


Into the Depths - on hiatus, updates sporadic

by chararii



Series: Blood and Water [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anbu Haruno Sakura, Angst, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Character Development, Culture, Dark, Drama, Family Secrets, Fictional Religion & Theology, Gen, Haruno Sakura-centric, Jinchuuriki!Sakura, Kiri!Sakura, Kirigakure | Hidden Mist Village, Minor Character Death, Mythology - Freeform, Platonic Relationships, Politics, Rated For Violence, Slow Burn, Team Kiri, Uzushiogakure | Hidden Eddy Village, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:15:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 164,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24707452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chararii/pseuds/chararii
Summary: There was peace in her heart and calm in the sea of her mind when she finally returned to the place where she was born but she should've known better than to assume it would last. The world called for blood and it would have it.The voice in her mind that fought the monster in her belly for dominance didn't help much but when faced with a madman, a nation that rose from the ashes like a phoenix and an old union that wanted war with her home, the increasingly deteriorating state of her mind didn't rank very high on her priority list.It should have.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura & Karatachi Yagura, Haruno Sakura & Original Male Character(s), Haruno Sakura & Sanbi | Three-tails | Isobu, Haruno Sakura & Terumi Mei
Series: Blood and Water [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1783150
Comments: 192
Kudos: 468





	1. Act I: Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here I am doing the thing I told myself not to do. Longer note at the end but be prepared that this is going to be different. Longer story means slower pacing which is the absolute opposite of what I'm used to. This will be very different from my oneshots but I hope people will still enjoy it. It is the same universe though and this story starts a few months after the Queen above the Tides and Daughter of the Sea.
> 
> Reading the first two parts of the series is strongly advised.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is how females bond. Also, turtle. Say hello to the turtle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whether you're new or here for a re-read, check out the last part of Act I for some sweet, new artwork at the bottom.

“You're getting better.” Sakura's head snapped to the left with an almost painful crack. The sudden rush forced her to close her eyes for a second as a quiet gasp escaped her lips and she swayed a little.

“Of course you're meant to parry those hits, not take them.” She would've rolled her eyes if she could but refrained and instead flopped down to the ground, katana discarded somewhere to her right. Her skin felt like it was on fire even though it was coated in a thin sheen of rapidly cooling sweat which itched in places she couldn't reach. Sakura breathed steadily in an effort to come down from the high as fast as possible so she could concentrate on whatever it was that Mei-sama wanted.

“Ao reported that you've been here since dawn. Haven't I told you that you're meant to take breaks?” Ao was a damn snitch.

“I'm taking a break. Right now,” Sakura answered between one breath and the next, trying very hard not to let herself fall backwards in exhaustion. Physical conditioning was hard work and hunter-nin standards were a bitch.

“Ah, Sakura-chan. You know I won't recommend you for the hunter corps. There's no need for you to torture yourself like this.” Curse this woman and her telepathic skills. Sakura grunted in response, having no desire to rehash this old argument between them. Sakura knew what she wanted but the dratted Mizukage refused her around every turn for some arbitrary reason known only to her. It was true that she wasn't terribly suited for the corps, she could admit that. But that was precisely why she had spent months just perfecting her knowledge of human anatomy and even pestered Ao into giving her specialised training to make up for her deficiencies.  
Sakura's greatest strength by far was her skill with a variety of blades and a high natural aptitude for suiton techniques. When they had first introduced her to the Silent Kill style their village was so famous for, she had taken to it like a duck to water. Additionally Junji-senpai had been kind enough to supply her with a small number of helpful genjutsu which she had quickly adapted to her combat style. Long story short Sakura was no born hunter nin but definitely one that could be made. She kept holding onto the hope that one day Mei-sama would change her mind. Apparently today was not the day.

“I was going to ask you for a spar but you don't look too fresh. Shame, truly.” Sakura's left eye twitched as she instantly recognised the bait for what it was. Abruptly getting to her feet she walked over to where her katana laid and gripped its handle tightly.

“Bring it, woman,” she spat and had barely the fraction of a second to see the sinister twist of the older woman's lips before she instinctively raised her blade to parry a strike meant to stab right through her throat. Sakura twirled around to deflect the next attack that would've disembowelled her if she'd been just a little slower. This was the nature of their spars, Sakura thought as she jumped back, evading and countering attacks in a steady rhythm that was second nature to her. If she were anywhere else her efforts to try and kill her village leader would have caused all sorts of trouble. She had gotten enough issues when she was still a Konoha nin and taken one too many swipes at Hatake's neck.  
A faint breeze close behind her alerted Sakura to Mei-sama's next attack so she dropped low and sent a kick in her direction. A finely manicured hand closed itself around her ankle and Sakura found herself carelessly tossed aside, straight into a boulder. Flipping around mid-air she caught the impact with her feet before launching herself off the rock with her katana in front of her, aimed straight for the woman's heart. She stabbed the water clone, causing it to burst into a puddle which promptly reformed into a number of spikes, one of which scratched Sakura's left leg, ruining another pair of pants.  
They went back and forth like this for several more minutes until Sakura felt the exhaustion get to her. She had been training for hours at this point and her kage was not exactly going easy on her. She never did. Sakura hissed at the sudden pain in her shoulder and wasted no time in pulling at the senbon, then promptly throwing them back into the direction they had come from.

“Too slow.” Sakura stiffened at the feeling of soft lips moving against the damp skin of her neck and a warm tongue languidly tracing a fresh cut, tasting her blood. One firm arm was slung around her middle, nails digging into her side while the other pressed against her chest and held a small dagger so close to her throat that any efforts to speak would result in further injury. Left with no other option and frustration clouding her judgement, Sakura growled and bucked once. Her efforts were fruitless since she knew from experience just how much strength the deceptively frail Mizukage possessed.

“That was fun, Sakura-chan,” Mei-sama quipped quietly before releasing Sakura from capture without offering her further assistance. So when her legs gave in and she collapsed there was nothing between her face and the cold hard ground.

“I hate you.” Lack of energy caused the vitriol to fall flat. She had impressed nobody with that. Sakura tried to get up but gave up soon enough when every single muscle in her body refused to cooperate.

“I was serious, you know. You don't have the right temperament for the hunters. Not to mention the waste of your talents.” Sakura bristled at the casual admission and forced her body to flip around so the Mizukage could at least see that she had bared her teeth and was snarling at her.

“They track, pursue, assassinate and then clean up. There's barely any fighting, no violence. For the most part they don't even use blades. It's a combination of senbon and suiton techniques. You'd hate it.” Hot anger bubbled in her stomach and clawed its way to the surface. It was one thing to string her along until she was ready but this was the first time that she had ever been this patronising. Sakura knew full well what was involved and how the hunter nin operated. She had spent a number of days with Ao and then even more time in the library just to gain the necessary knowledge. She had worked hard to prepare.

“You don't know me,” Sakura snapped at her and pure spite supplied her with the energy to get to her feet and roughly shove her katana into its sheath. Mei-sama hummed, completely unconcerned by Sakura's gruff behaviour.

“Sometimes I forget you're _that_ age.” Sakura whirled around with her teeth bared to demand what the hell that was supposed to mean when, faster than her eyes could see, the woman bashed the handle of her dagger against Sakura's jaw. Pain bloomed in the area, the force of the hit rattled her skull and sent her staggering backwards.

“Don't show me your teeth unless you're ready to bite.” The words barely made it through the ringing in her ears but the soft sound of censure was one she had heard one too many times to still mistake it for anything else. Sakura truly wished the woman was more consistent. Instead it was all kind voice and brutal violence or vice versa.

“It's a good thing your birthday is only a month away. You've been increasingly tetchy lately.” With the sense of disorientation waning Sakura was able to roll her eyes and accept the hand the Mei-sama offered her only to be hauled off the ground and to her feet. Grudgingly she had to admit to herself that it was true. Her nerves were running thin and had been for quite some time. The kind of unrest she felt as well as the increasingly loud thrumming in her ears was an annoyance she had believed to be gone from her life forever. The last time Sakura had felt anything quite like it was when she still lived in Konoha.

“He was the same. It will help.” Empty words, Sakura thought but probably true nonetheless. It wasn't like the Mizukage had ever led her astray if one ignored the whole hunter-nin debacle. Mei-sama liked to compare them which seemed kind of pointless to Sakura considering he was dead and they were never going to meet anyway.

“Are you still meditating appropriately?” She grunted and gave a small nod for good measure as she walked over to the riverbank where she had left her clothes and supplies. Too lazy to dress properly, Sakura stuffed the shirt into her backpack and put on her midnight blue haori.

“Can I come over for dinner tonight?” she asked over her shoulder as she gathered the rest of her things, strapped her tanto and wakizashi to her back just below the already fastened katana and finally slung her backpack over her left shoulder.

“Not all is well within the Karatachi household?” Mei-sama asked and facing her, Sakura gave a simple shrug.

“Now that the family's back here and Kiri seems stable enough my parents started talking about another child. I try to eat out most days,” she explained and fell into step with the Mizukage as they made their way from the training fields close to the shore back into the village. She felt rather neutral towards the issue now but back when her mother had brought it up Sakura had slightly overreacted. It took a week for her to calm down again, a week that she had spent sleeping at the coast and training all day with only one food run per day. Now, later, she understood her mother's reasoning. They could afford to properly settle. Kiri meant security even if the economy was still recovering with food not being as abundant as it was in Konoha.  
Their family name had caused some issues in the beginning; the return of those who had fled from Yagura's genjutsu induced rage and hatred for his own kind raised more than just a few concerns. It had taken some time and very public deference to the Mizukage as well as the patronage of the Terumi clan head for people to stop shying away or sending nasty glances. Peace was still rather fragile but it was enough.

“Isn't that lovely. Perhaps your little sibling will be the first in the family to inherit those pretty magenta eyes.” When Sakura had first seen a picture of her grandfather she had been struck by how young he looked but then again her family apparently had its children young. According to her mother, Yagura had fathered Mebuki when he was but fifteen while Mebuki herself had been pregnant with Sakura at age sixteen. Being nearly sixteen years of age she felt nowhere near ready to settle down with kids not that anyone had ever asked her to. Her mother had called it a wartime tradition. To ensure the continuation of one's family line before they all died out. A grim, if oddly appropriate sentiment.

“Mother wishes for a boy so she can name him Kagura. I think she's unhappy she broke tradition with me, security reasons or not.” They were close to the village border and already Sakura could spot the gate guards straightening from their slouch at the impending arrival of their kage. The ANBU guard still followed them but they were barely noticeable unlike the Konoha guard whose protocol dictated two revealed shinobi at the Hokage's side at all times.

“Oh, your mother followed your clan's tradition with you. Ma-gu-ra, Ya-gu-ra, Sa-ku-ra. Her name is the one that's out of the ordinary but her own mother is to blame for that. She was an outsider and as far as I know from no clan herself. Yagura never met her again after the conception so there was no one around to enforce naming customs.” That was a lot of information Sakura had never come by before. Quietly she wondered if her mother knew. Debating whether or not she should tell her, Sakura decided that it wasn't necessary. Although she was pleased to find out that she was a proper child of her clan, name and all. Karatachi Sakura felt more right than Haruno Sakura ever did. Thank kami her father was an uncomplicated man who hadn't minded taking his wife's name and renouncing his own.

“But,” the Mizukage piped up as they passed through the gates and set foot into the village proper,

“You may join me for dinner in a few hours. I usually eat in my office, though on Tuesdays I go home early. You're lucky, little Karatachi-chan.” Sakura felt her fingers twitch at the nickname she so despised so she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Randomly attacking Mei-sama on the training grounds was fair game. The second they entered the village that would see her in a cell. With a wink and the hint of a wave the woman bid Sakura goodbye and took a left towards the Mizukage's building.  
Now that the exhaustion caught up with her, Sakura yawned loudly and rubbed her forehead before dragging her feet to the hospital. The cuts she had sustained during her spar with Mei-sama could be taken care of swiftly by one of the doctors in training. Everything else would go away on its own in a matter of days. Rolling her shoulders Sakura weaved through the crowd, dutifully ignoring her growling stomach caused by the various food stalls offering a variety of fried fish and other sea creatures. While Sakura had been completely honest with the Mizukage regarding her reasons for staying away from home she had omitted one major detail. Her purse was empty. Training herself into the ground with a fervour didn't leave much time for going on missions.  
They had given her a mask one month after arrival and the occasional ANBU mission paid well enough for Sakura to be able to afford her sword set. The rest of her money went straight to her mother since out of the three of them Sakura had the easiest time supporting them until her parents found steady work. Her father had recently become employed as assistant to a local blacksmith while her mother helped out as nurse from time to time. With the upcoming jounin evaluations Sakura hoped she could get herself nominated, then work hard enough to pass and then finally elbow her way into the hunter-nin squad, Mei-sama's reluctance be damned. Visiting the hospital always came with an almost overwhelming smell of antiseptic that made Sakura want to gag so she took a deep breath before crossing the threshold, raising her hand in greeting.

“Ah, Karatachi-san. That doesn't look too bad. Room 3-C is free. Do you want me to call for your mother?” Sakura only shook her head and gave the receptionist a small nod of gratitude. Back in Konoha she hadn't bothered getting her scraps healed after a training session but Kiri was different. Sakura liked to swim before going to bed and there were plenty of cautionary tales concerning open wounds and fresh water. Itching and stinging aside the risk for infection was too high to chance it. As soon as she arrived in the designated room, Sakura got rid of the haori and stripped down to her underwear, absent-mindedly taking stock of her injuries.  
The receptionist had been right. There were a few red streaks colouring her skin and only a small number of cuts along with a larger gash down her thigh. Mei-sama's signature move, she mused as her finger traced the clean cut. She had this irritating preference for causing wounds where others could see them. A knock on the door tore her from her thoughts, followed by the entrance of Akaho-san. The young slim blonde came closer with a smile on her face and a clipboard in her hands.

“Good day to you, Karatachi-san. You look better than usual.” That woman would consider that a compliment, Sakura thought with a snort and gave a single nod, allowing the blonde to do her job without wasting her time.

“If you hadn't come in today I would have called for you anyways. Mizukage-sama thought it would be best to increase the sessions now that your birthday is approaching.” And she couldn't have told her that in person? Sakura clenched, then relaxed her fists, taking little note of the woman's fingertips gently brushing over her skin.

“How kind of her to let me know,” she grumbled with a little more force than usual and following up with a deep sigh. Her insides were bubbling again and her body tensed up, familiar frustration coming once again to the surface. Sakura bit her lip and closed her eyes, telling herself to suck it up and calm the fuck down. She was a kami forsaken time bomb even tired and spent as she was. Maybe Mei-sama had a point. Her birthday couldn't come soon enough.

“Fine. Bring me the puzzle box.” If Akaho-san was offended by her rudeness she didn't make a big deal of it which was good for everyone involved. The blonde left for a moment to ask the ANBU outside to fetch the container and Sakura took the time to focus on her breathing and begin her exercises. Closing her eyes once again she concentrated on the rise and fall of her chest, the beat of her heart and the blood flowing through her veins until the roiling pool of chakra resting in her stomach settled. Reaching down Sakura tapped into the energy and began the cycling.  
Slow and hesitant at first, then steady and calm she moved her chakra through the pathways, all the way down to her feet, then back up to her head. She pushed chakra to her fingertips, her chest, toes, ears, eyes. Once she succeeded in evenly spreading her entire supply of chakra across her body, she gave a single nod. Sakura focused on maintaining the balance even as she felt the small weight that was placed into her lap, took a deep breath and then reached out.

_'Welcome back, young Karatachi.'_

Sakura released the air she had gathered in her lungs and centered herself.

_'Hello, Isobu.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest here I'm really nervous. I've never written a long multi-chapter piece before and even planning it out is terrifying. I don't know if I'll be able to commit to it but I have a rough outline of the plot.  
> I know the chapter length is rather short but as someone who pretty much specialises in that (and short paragraphs) this is already a compromise. The length itself will wary depending on the pacing of the plot.
> 
> Things are pretty tame to start out but part one and two of the series lay the groundwork for the dark and gritty things to come. This is not going to be a nice ride. 
> 
> Last but not least some notes regarding canon. Things will be explained and pointed out but a few basics:  
> -Canon happened up until the beginning of Shippudden with exceptions  
> -Akatsuki is an infamous terrifying group of mercenaries based in Amegakure that DON'T HUNT JINCHURIKII and is led by Yahiko who never died.  
> -Kaguya, Madara and Obito are not relevant. Seriously. The last thing of note Obito did was fucking with Yagura for a few years. Nagato still has the rinnegan.
> 
> Last but not least, please bear with me. I have virtually 0 experience with long-term projects or this type of writing but I'll try my best.


	2. Act I: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative chapter title: Of turtles and history lessons. Also: wanted for attempted murder. Sakura's not doing too great.

He felt cold but solid, comforting like a steady presence taking the form of an unwavering pool of calm. It was easy to let go of herself and sink deeper into the link between the two of them. She had been practising for months and so she gave in piece by piece like tiny drops of water dripping down into the lake beneath her. The cavern surrounding her was dark and damp with no exit and not a single source of light except for a faint shimmer of green that sat on top of the lake's surface. Far above the ceiling was littered with sharp spiky rock formations coated in a thin layer of wetness, sparkling and reflecting the green luminescence. A quiet hum in the air disturbed the silence, the only noise aside from the constant drip drip drip. The entire space radiated balance and stability without feeling in any way stifling or oppressive.

 _'Your soul is restless.'_ From the darkest corner of the cave a single yellow eye stared at her, liquefied and immaterial as she was, quietly taking in the ripples she caused as her drops hit the lake.

 _'It's why I'm here,'_ she replied, thoughts barely a whisper in her mind, a quiet breath in comparison to the echo that was his voice. The lake remained calm and undisturbed as he moved, not stepping out of the shadows but lowering himself closer to the surface until they were eye to eye.

 _'You are much like him even though he was much younger when we first met. Your advanced age will complicate the bonding,'_ he rumbled, low and nonthreatening like the endless pillar of steadiness that he was. He blinked once, slowly, taking his time. His single eye was as large as her entire body, his form eclipsing hers with a presence as all-encompassing and eternal as the ocean.

 _'I was told of its necessity. I understand what I have to do,'_ she replied, words clipped and with an edge that broke through the haze he was weaving around her mind. A flare of energy lit up the water, however briefly, and then she felt like she was drowning. There was no air, nothing, as his chakra flooded her system in a rush that tasted salty and fresh, like bubbles of acid and the sharp edges of coral. It lasted barely a second but it left her raw and reeling, all traces of her former agitation gone without a trace.

 _'Do you, child? Have they told you the stories of what my former host has done without my influence?'_ She felt weak and formless, her mind slowly shutting down as she let herself merge with the lake and drift away, following the ripples she had caused until they died down.

 _'Your Terumi has you well in hand. As far as jailers go she's decent enough and knows what she's doing. But his? His was weak and failed him when he needed it the most. Take solace in that if nothing else. She will handle you if anyone were to send me to sleep again.'_ Her already scrambled mind twitched in confusion and she pulled herself together long enough to speak up.

 _'What are you talking about?'_ she asked but he only closed his eye and as the pressure around her lifted she felt his presence waning as he withdrew, settling back into his shadowed corner.

 _'They're coming to wake you up. Ask her. She will answer your questions.'_ His final words were almost smothered by the rush of water in her ears as she felt herself being pulled away from the lake, the fragmented parts of her mind and soul rising from the surface, tiny drops of her travelling upwards until they reached the rock formations and up up up-

Sakura gasped loudly, eyes wide and open and temporarily blinded by the bright white light all around her. She struggled for a second, confused by her own body, the sudden addition of limbs and lungs too much-

“Breathe, Karatachi-san. Listen to my voice and breathe. You're in the hospital. You were meditating. I had to wake you up because the Mizukage sent a message, requesting your presence in her office. You were under for three hours.” As the woman (blonde, Akaho-san) spoke, Sakura blinked and focused on her breathing, allowing the gentle voice to centre and anchor her back to reality. The feeling in her arms and legs returned as she slowly regained control over her body. Almost blindingly white light became bearable when her eyes adjusted and after a few seconds her sight had returned.

“I'm sorry for disrupting you so suddenly but you didn't seem like you would wake up on your own anytime soon. Did you have a nice chat?” Akaho-san asked with a small smile on her lips, much too jovial and casual about the fact that Sakura was regularly sitting down to drink metaphorical tea with the sanbi. Then again that was most likely why she had been chosen to supervise said sessions.

“No,” she answered shortly with a frown, staring at the intricate puzzle box in her lap. The damn turtle had left her with more questions than answers and she had not appreciated being flooded with his chakra no matter how beneficial that might have been. In just a few months they would be one. Sakura wasn't sure whether she looked forward to that or not. He had that effect on her. As Akaho-san gingerly took the box and handed it to the patient ANBU by her side, Sakura got off the bed and got dressed.

“Any headaches, irregularities in your chakra flow, other pains or disturbances?” Sakura quietly shook her head, stepped into her boots and retrieved her weapons from the chair to her left. A sudden growl disrupted the silence, causing Sakura to glare at her stomach.

“Don't let me keep you then. Your next appointment is in three days.” the doctor reminded her, saying her goodbyes with a single wave. Quietly acknowledging the blonde, Sakura left the room and exited the hospital as quickly as possible. A light drizzle greeted her once she left the building. The sun had already set and there were fewer people about, only a small number of lights flickering in the distance. Kiri had never been as bright or well-lit as Konoha due to the number of bloodlines that had improved vision in the dark, a trait that in time had even been passed onto civilians. Sakura herself was not as lucky but even her eyes adjusted quickly and let her navigate the rooftops without further incidents. By the time she knocked on Mei-sama's door she was damp and slightly steamy due to the warm interior of the Mizukage's building.

“Come in, Sakura-chan,” the older woman said from behind the door, voice muffled and quiet. There were no ANBU around, Sakura noted when she entered the room and closed the door behind her with a barely audible click.

“You're late. Was he chatty?” The comment reminded Sakura of the fact that Mei-sama hadn't told her about the spontaneous session beforehand, making her frown and glower in distaste.

“Yeah. He also said you had answers for me,” she replied and stalked to the chair in front of the Mizukage's desk, nose catching a whiff of the delicious assortment of fried foods in the bag resting beside a tower of paperwork. Sakura looked up long enough to catch the hint of surprise on the older woman's face before it disappeared and was replaced by something akin to resignation.

“So it's time for that talk already. Damn reptile's always been more trouble than he was worth,” Mei-sama murmured with a shake of her head, hands reaching for the bag and withdrawing two boxes one of which she placed in front of Sakura.

“You know each other,” the girl said with raised brows as she opened the box, mouth watering at the savoury smell and lovely sight of fried fish with some rice on the side. A simple meal but one of her favourites as well as a guilty pleasure of the usually picky Mizukage.

“Hardly. We know _of_ each other. There's a difference,” the woman pointed out before placing a piece of fish on her tongue, closing her eyes and humming happily. Dissatisfied with the lack of answer Sakura glowered, then copied her, only barely suppressing the moan of happiness at the divine taste and crispy texture.

“Surely you must have asked yourself why I take such an interest in you beyond the interactions we have, prompted by your status as future keeper of the sanbi.” There was some truth to that, Sakura thought as she mulled the words over in her head. Ever since they had first met in the Hokage's office Mei-sama had spent a lot of time with her, even acted as a teacher on multiple occasions. They were on very friendly terms which was highly unusual for a kage with no prior connections to a simple chuunin like her.

“You're aware that I was familiar with Yagura. He was my teacher, a mentor of sorts and even something of a friend until everything went to hell,” the Mizukage began and Sakura listened while they both calmly ate their food.

“The Terumi and the Karatachi go way back even further than the founding of our village. Both performed services the other needed which gave birth to a strong alliance that lasted for centuries. My father mentored Yagura who later took me as a student. Our relationship doesn't get much attention because our clans have always been close.” Huh. Her mother had never told her any of that. In fact, they had never spoken about her family. The only thing Mebuki had ever shared with Sakura was her maiden name which didn't mean anything to her until she first met the Mizukage.

“It's a little more complicated than that, however.” Sakura looked up and stared into familiar green eyes, hooded and focused on nothing in particular.

“We're your keepers.” Sakura blinked and frowned because depending on how one interpreted that it sounded somewhat inappropriate. Either that or downright worrying. Sakura sure as hell didn't need to be leashed. Mei-sama looked up and folded her hands in front of her.

“The Karatachi have always been incredibly strong fighters. You're naturally talented in a variety of styles, adaptable with immense control over your chakra and iron hard discipline needed to succeed in whichever field you wished to specialise in. But...” The woman took a deep breath and averted her eyes, solemn and thoughtful in a way Sakura had never seen before. She wasn't sure she liked the sight.

“If unchecked you will slaughter everyone you come across. Your family, friends, lovers. There's a need to kill in your blood, a bloodthirsty violence that goes way beyond even Kiri's standards. It's genetic even though no one has ever been able to figure out why. Once an affected member of your clan is fully matured they change and become unstoppable.” Sakura hadn't realised that she was holding her breath and released it with an audible pause. Her fingers itched so she clenched her hands into fists and bit the inside of her cheek. A disturbing sense of unease came over her and before she realised it, Sakura had gotten to her feet under the watchful eyes of the Mizukage.

“That's where I come in,” she spoke as she followed Sakura's lead then rounded the table, coming to a stand in front of the girl.

“My clan has both the power and the ability to reign yours in. It's never been documented but we've always had our suspicions that at one point our clans were one. For unknown reasons we split but it's our similarities that allow us to act, move and think together. We share an unnatural potential for violence along with a taste for blood that's hard to control.” Mei-sama raised a single hand and placed it on Sakura's shoulder. Suddenly and without warning a sense of calm settled over her that allowed her to breathe evenly without feeling like she was about to be pulled apart at the seams. Disoriented and slightly overwhelmed, Sakura blinked a few times in quick succession until she was able to focus on the woman in front of her.

“In turn you have always been exceedingly fond of us and joined our fights without question or hesitance. It's a symbiotic relationship that secured prosperity for generations.” Here, the Mizukage paused for a moment, a subtle tension in her body Sakura only noticed due to the touch on her shoulder.

“Until my father made a mistake.” It was a quiet admission, barely audible despite the utter silence surrounding them. There was no shame in her voice, no sadness, no emotion whatsoever. The words were uttered with simple clarity as if she was stating just another fact of life.

“When the sanbi was gifted to our village it was sealed in one of your ancestors. The effects were immediate. The three-tails is the calmest and most peaceful of all the tailed beasts. That combined with its willingness to cooperate with its container provided a strong force of stability for the jinchurikii. The decision was obvious. Ever since the sanbi was bound to the strongest member of your clan to create a powerful force of controlled destruction.” She could see the logic in that but the words left Sakura restless as she waited for what was undoubtedly going to be bad news. If the sanbi as well as the Terumi were so capable of controlling the apparently purely homicidal nature of her clan then what went wrong with Yagura? And could it happen again? The thought of striking down her parents and ending the life of her future sibling made her nauseous.

“My father was complacent and relied too much on the sanbi's influence. An enemy ninja took advantage of that and through unknown means, sent him to sleep. He unleashed Yagura onto his own village and caused Kiri's darkest period in recent history. Chigiri.” Sakura gulped. Bad news didn't cut it, she thought grimly, clenching her fists hard enough to leave dripping red crescent marks on her palms. Suddenly everything made so much sense. The Mizukage's insistence she bond with the sanbi multiple times a week, the sealing that was scheduled for her sixteenth birthday and had been announced to her after two measly weeks in the village, the sheer efficiency with which Mei-sama had wrangled Sakura from Konoha's clutches. How naive of her to assume that it was her Kiri heritage that had been the reason for her near constant rage and desire for fighting that never went away. How naive to assume that she had simply wanted to bring her home. A cold fury burned in her stomach, harsh and biting like icy winds and her entire body began to tremble.

“Come.” The words had barely left her mouth before the Mizukage shunshined the both of them out of the office. Sakura didn't take the time to take in her surroundings, her hands immediately went to her katana and she threw herself against the older woman. They didn't spar. There was no retaliation, nothing but a steady rhythm of dodging, parrying, blocking. Frustration and anger were in Sakura's every strike, she aimed for vital points for want of a quick kill and she wailed on her target with a fearsome snarl. She growled, hissed and roared, used her blades, fists and teeth. Her vision was tinted red, all conscious thought gone, nothing but a near overwhelming need to take and destroy. Sakura thought of sinking her teeth into the woman's pale flesh and tearing until she ripped a chunk of flesh right out of her body. She thought of using her blade to cut right through her neck, separate the head from the rest and painting her skin a lovely red. She thought of closing her hands around her neck and pressing down until she had squeezed the life out of her. She thought... she thought... The red slowly faded and in between blinks, colour seeped back into the world. Her breath calmed, her body stilled, her mind came to rest and quieted down. Bit by bit Sakura woke from her rage, gently and softly as if waking up from a particularly pleasant dream. Eventually she became aware of the hands resting on either side of her head, the feather light pressure on her forehead, a tender kiss draining all energy from Sakura and leaving her arms hanging limply at her sides, knees about to give in.

“You see?” Sakura's hands shook as she moved them upwards to wrap them around the woman's arms, using the touch to ground herself.

“I promise you that I won't make the same mistake. I'm the strongest living member of my clan and I'm responsible for you. Sanbi or not I take my vows seriously. I know the consequences if I don't better than anyone else.” The utter tranquillity that swung in her voice reached something deep inside Sakura and dissolved the last of the angry red threads curled around her heart.

“Once you're sealed it will become easier. Of course being a jinchuuriki is no cakewalk and you'll have to go through months of rigorous training to both make use of his power and perfect your bond but I'll be right beside you. I may be Mizukage but before that, I am Terumi” Silence fell over the both of them, interrupted only by the sound of Sakura taking deep breaths and the rustling of clothing as Mei-sama shifted to put some distance between them once it was obvious that the girl would be able to stand on her own.

“I'm fine. Sorry,” she murmured before reaching down to take her blade and sliding it back into its sheath. A gust of wind made her shiver and it was then that she suddenly realised that she was barely clothed, outside at night and thoroughly drenched.

“It's not like I didn't expect it to happen. It's why the turtle told you to get your answers from me,” Mei-sama explained with a small gesture of her hand, completely unbothered by the rain. Also dry, Sakura observed. She would ask her for that water repelling jutsu sometime.

“Wouldn't he mistrust you after what happened?” she asked out of curiosity because surely the demon must have blamed someone...

“You tell me.” Sakura breathed loudly, then shook her head. Isobu had never spoken ill of the Mizukage or seemed angry at her, the few times she had come up in their conversations.

“You'll get a cold if you stay here. We should head back if you're up for it.” It didn't sound like a question but Sakura answered regardless. Feeling much more like herself, she subtly bared her teeth and glared.

“I'm Kiri. I don't get colds.” Mei-sama raised her brows and clucked her tongue.

“Ah, the invincibility of youth,” she drawled and Sakura bristled at her mockery but instead of rising to the bait she grit her teeth and with a huff, followed the older woman back into the village. By the time they were back in the office and in Sakura's case, dripping everywhere, not even a hint of her earlier frenzy was left. It was as if the simple presence of the Terumi, just being around her, did wonders for her state of mind. Thinking back Sakura recalled the times she had been angry, already short temper exploding, and in hindsight remembered the numerous times the Mizukage had taken a single step closer, twisted her hands just so, held her gaze for barely a second and made the budding rage simmer down until it vanished. She thought of all the times they had been sparring, how the woman had taken Sakura's hunger and absorbed it in its entirety, how she pushed her around and forced her to her knees over and over again.

She watched her consume the remnants of their simple dinner and thought that yes, if anyone knew just how to handle her, it was Terumi Mei. She tried to ignore how relieved she felt because it made her fear for the day that Mei-sama wasn't there in time to catch her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In other news, my mother came over and I told her about my writing. I now have the questionable honour of knowing that my mom will be around to read eventual future smut. Joy.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed. :)


	3. Act I: Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the obligatory flirt. Also, Sakura wants to fight the ocean. Plot is coming.

A subtle disturbance in the air accompanied by a faint hiss, the sound of three senbon, thrown with pinpoint accuracy announced his imminent arrival. Pure instinct allowed Sakura to dodge two and block the third with a projectile of her own but it was sheer irritation that made her go the extra mile and launch a kunai at the shadow beneath her window.

“Sloppy, Sakura-chan. That's not how you get promoted.” Sakura grit her teeth and squashed the urge to hit the man right in the face, senpai or not. He was a menace.

“One day you'll get yourself killed,” she hissed before turning around and refusing to acknowledge him any further. If he continued to drop in unannounced and worse, unwanted, then she wouldn't reward him by paying attention.

“Hmm, I'm sure you'd make artwork out of me.” Sakura rolled her eyes and flopped down onto the single chair in the room, head once again bowed over the suiton scroll Ao had given her in a great show of reluctance. That man had to be fought for every single bit of advice but what he gave was priceless.

“Don't ignore me like that, hime. You know it hurts my feelings.” It took considerable self control not to flinch at the sudden puff of air tickling her right ear as he whispered the words and moved a single strand of hair back in place.

“Go play with someone else, Junji-senpai,” she suggested flatly, in absolutely no mood to deal with him. Technically as her senior she owed him some measure of respect. In reality, his skills definitely deserved it. He was infamous among the hunter-nin complete with bingo book entry and suitably terrifying alias. As a person the Crimson Shade was a severe letdown. The first time they had met, he had criticised her stance and then proceeded to wipe the floor with her which – fair. But she just couldn't see how this man terrified most genin and chuunin and then some.

“But you're my favourite toy,” he drawled, still very much too close to her ear and Sakura could've sworn he was just seconds away from doing something he was seriously going to regret.

“I'm studying. Surely you have better things to do than hovering in a teenager's bedroom.” Predictably, the comment failed to hit its mark and Junji-senpai's annoying tendency to take things at face value brought him even closer to her until only a thin scrap of parchment would've fit between them.

“We could just study together.” Deciding that she'd had enough, Sakura rolled the scroll back up, got off her chair and crossed the bedroom until she reached the window which she then proceeded to point at.

“Leave,” was her monosyllabic answer to his questionable proposition, not that it ruffled the black-haired annoyance. He chuckled lowly and slowly sauntered closer, silky straight hair fluttering slightly in sync with his movements.

“Only if you join me. We have a mission,” he offered with a smirk after showing her the blue-lined scroll he had pulled from the insides of his pale silvery haori. Sakura clamped her mouth shut before she could yell at him and instead turned around to get her mission gear from a nearby cupboard. Lately she had been trying to channel her more violent impulses into efficiency instead. The method was far from foolproof but it definitely helped in her dealings with her senpai. Not bothering to check whether he'd turned around because there were lines even he wasn't willing to cross, Sakura quickly discarded her casual outfit, put on her fitted grey pants, a simple dark shirt under standard body armour and the dark blue haori that had at some point become part of her mission outfit.

“Mask?” she asked as she strapped her weapons to her back, followed by a small weapons pouch and after hearing an affirmative hum, grabbed the clay mask and positioned it in front of her face, a thin rubber band snapping it in place. Sakura remembered admiring the Kiri mask design the first time she had seen it. The swirls, lines and images all of which tended to be rather reminiscent of waves appealed to her more than the Konoha animal system ever did. Her own was painted in a mixture of blues and greens, all darker hues which contrasted nicely with the white. When Mei-sama had handed it over she told Sakura that green was her clan's colour but the blue suited her better. Sakura didn't mind the compromise especially considering that turquoise was her favourite colour.

In no time at all they had left her family's apartment and took to the roofs. Back in Konoha it had been rare to see ANBU travel the village in broad daylight. They had taken the term shadow forces very literal and were under strict instructions not to spook the villagers and to stay out of sight whenever possible. The so-called 'nice' village had always been hypocritical enough to send its ANBU as executioners and mass murderers while also punishing those who were spotted by civilians.

Kiri was much different in that regard. Everyone was aware of the shady dealings that went on in and outside the village. Chigiri had taken the last remnants of doubt the general population might have had as murders were committed openly and without reservation. There had been public executions and an all-time visible protection detail for the Yondaime Mizukage. ANBU masks, while not exactly a welcome sight, held little mystery especially for the standard shinobi corps. Additionally Kiri had a much larger ANBU force than most villages, both a remnant of darker days and general village procedure.

Amegakure was the only village that took more S-Rank contracts than Kiri, the sole reason being their mercenary band of highly specialised and deadly missing-nin. Long story short, Kiri positively crawled with masks during all times of the day so Sakura and Junji didn't draw any unwanted attention.

“What are we in for?” she asked eventually in between one roof and the next, voice muffled through the mask. Her senpai's crimson visage turned towards her and she got the faint impression that he was amused.

“Mizukage-sama will brief you.” Ever helpful, he was. Sakura rolled her eyes before increasing her speed, not doubting that he'd be able to keep up. The timing of the mission really was unfortunate. The jounin exams were but a week away and she'd been preparing for months. Depending on the scope of the mission she could end up missing them, thus having to wait another year. Very briefly she considered that this coincidence was entirely intentional, then scrapped the idea immediately. If the Mizukage didn't want her to sign up she'd simply reject the application, not send her on a mission outside the village. Still, Sakura hoped it wouldn't take too long. A quick in and out was definitely preferable.

“You're late. Did you get lost on the way?” Sakura winced slightly at the bite behind Mei-sama's words as Junji-senpai climbed in through the window after her. Two ANBU were already standing in front of the desk, backs ramrod straight, empty eye holes watching their every move. Their masks were painted in dark purple swirls and thin grey lines respectively, making Sakura frown in thought. What were Junji-senpai and her doing on a team with a tracker and a medic?

“As I said, your target was last seen in Tea country and is on the move, likely well protected. There's a good chance Ame will try to beat you there but unless complications arise you are not to engage. Find, eliminate, retreat. If you spot Akatsuki, run back to the village.” Well, that explained the tracker and the medic. Especially the medic. Although Sakura had never run into Akatsuki before she had seen the bingo book entries as well as heard the rumours. Shinobi who could wage war on entire towns in pairs of two and still win were best approached with care. Or not at all.

“Leave the bulk of the fighting to Karatachi. Shade, you focus on getting the target's head. If you see an opportunity to snatch it, take it. Nanade is on reserve and Ichiyo will support as needed. Questions?” Four masked shinobi shook their heads in unison and after a dismissive wave of the Mizukage's hand, shunshined to the top of the building.

“Ready to head out, taichou,” the tracker, Ichiyo, spoke up with a nod towards Junji who gave two sharp hand signs, signalling them to assume diamond formation with the medic at the back before shooting off into the distance.

They stayed close to each other as they made their way through the village gate and past its border, sticking to the ground and running like shadows without making a single sound. It was around noon and they would reach the mainland in approximately twelve hours. Missions on the main land as ANBU were always a bit of a hassle. Crossing the ocean on foot came with its own risks and was prohibited for the general forces, jounin being the only exception. ANBU generally didn't travel by boat only in rare cases of injury. For that reason Kiri shinobi learned to walk on water within the first academy year to get used to the method quickly and then focus on reducing the chakra drain. Yet with all the practise in the world, the energy it took to traverse the open sea was considerable, creating a need for long recuperation periods on the two smaller isles between the main island and the shores of Hills country.

The weather was particularly nasty that day with dark grey clouds, harsh winds and a steady stream of rain. They were completely drenched after just a few minutes and by the time they reached the shore, Sakura's will to live took a decent hit. The sight of a raging ocean, tall waves that violently crashed into each other and rain so thick it was almost impossible to see truly killed whatever enthusiasm she might have had. Not that there was any way out of this, she thought glumly as she opened her pack and grabbed the roll of thick wire rope, slung one end around her waist and made sure the hook was secured tightly.

Giving the wire two experimental chakra enhanced tugs, she threw the other end of the rope to Nanade, then caught Junji's end and fastened that to the other side, opposite of her own hook. The rope wire was a hard security requirement for ocean travel to prevent death by momentary failure. Even the most experienced of shinobi could still falter and it took only a second to lose one's footing and get swallowed by the sea. Nobody asked her if she would be alright and quietly Sakura thanked them for it. She was by far the youngest of the group, a junior compared to the more veteran members and on top of that, still a chuunin. Only her ANBU status allowed her to do this in the first place but it was hardly the first time she'd crossed the ocean before. It had never been during a raging storm however. Sakura took a deep breath and reminded herself that Junji was attached to her and he'd have her back in case of emergency.

With a small twist of her hand, Sakura signalled 'ready' followed by one last security check before they were off. She thought she was prepared. She was _not_. It took barely any time at all before her legs started to ache and her entire body shook like a leaf. Sakura felt the beginnings of a headache since it took nearly all of her concentration to keep up a steady flow of chakra in her feet, minutely adjust to waves and ripples, release it when they had to jump over impossibly high tidal waves, then reapply for a landing without sinking below the surface. Joints and muscles she had never before used in her life screamed at her and throughout it all Sakura promised herself to yell at Mei-sama next time she saw her. If civilian boats were too unreliable and irregular to be constantly available for ANBU maybe she should just get her own. Surely a longer but energy conserving journey would be faster overall than this torture, followed by a few hours of rest and medical attention.

Sending curses at the sky, the Mizukage, the bloody _water_ and herself Sakura immersed herself in her rage for the spiteful energy it provided her. She was not going to lose to the damn, kami forsaken sea. Claiming the rest of the journey went by without further incident would be a filthy lie. Sakura went under twice and had a wave collapse over her once but each time Junji pulled at the rope and dragged her back to the surface. Her face burned red in shame and with lack of air. Nearly drowning was rather unpleasant and not for the first time she thanked the heavens that ANBU masks came with fuinjutsu that provided the same function as standard underwater breathers.

They didn't help with the nausea. The second Sakura's feet met land, she collapsed to her knees, shoved the mask upwards and retched. The amount of salt water in her stomach was enough to make her vomit up her breakfast. Her lungs burned and the taste in her mouth was awful but none of that came even close to the issue that were her legs. Standing up was almost impossible, the motion sending sharp spikes of pain down her limbs. Sakura bit the inside of her cheek until it bled, concentrated on the dull throb in her mouth instead and fell into a shaky run with the rest of her team. While definitely worse for wear, none of them looked as dead on their feet as she did and it pissed her off. Rationally she was fully aware that their experience by far eclipsed her own but it wasn't fucking fair. Sakura hated being the weak link.

It was hard to stop unconsciously sending chakra to her feet, an hour of ocean travel enough to almost completely drain her reserves. The barren and dead expanse of Yumishima, the self proclaimed island of ghosts was easy to navigate. A total lack of forests and fields made the entire area almost inhabitable save for a few tiny fishing villages located at the coast. The high amount of salt in the soil killed crops before they had even a chance of growing, there was little trade and boats only ever stopped for quick breaks or repairs. There was little to no life in the poorest region in Mizu no Kuni. Soon enough they reached a tiny makeshift inn just as Sakura was ready to pass out. The owner was an old man with lines in his face so deep they almost looked like scars and a young child whose ribs showed clearly, pale skin stretched thin over its skeletal appearance. All four of them shared a single room and Sakura barely managed to get out of her clothes before burrowing into a futon and immediately falling asleep.

“Wakey wakey, hime.” She woke to the faint buzz of medical chakra working on her legs and Junji's voice in her ear.

“You're too soft on her.” Quiet and hushed as they were spoken, Sakura almost missed the words as the last remnants of sleep broke away. The subtle morning light she had so gotten used to waking up to was absent and instead she was greeted by complete and utter darkness with only source of light being a single candle, the flame flickering in the drafty abode. Other than the sound of four people breathing the same air, silence reigned which irritated Sakura for about a second before she realised that it wasn't raining. Thank kami for that. She just might live to see the shore of Hills.

“We're leaving in ten,” Junji announced from behind her so Sakura forced herself to sit up and get her bearings. She had fallen asleep in her uniform which was still damp and stuck to her body like a second skin. A quick glance at the others showed that they suffered the same fate. Five hours of rest in Mizu's most hazardous shack wasn't nearly enough for fabric to dry. Rummaging in the smaller pouch on her upper thigh Sakura searched until her fingers closed around a thin vial. She pulled it out of the satchel, removed the stopper and knocked it back, swallowed instantly and made a face at the vile taste. No matter how nasty, the medicine was a life saver. Kiri's shinobi had adapted to the climate generations ago but in truly extreme conditions even their natural resistance would still fail them.

Sakura yawned quietly and checked her chakra levels. They were about half full which didn't exactly inspire confidence so she swallowed a soldier pill, adjusted the body armour which had ridden up during her rest and reached for her hair.

“Allow me,” Sakura blinked once, turning her head to look at Junji out of one eye, weighing the pros and cons of letting him near her now only to suffer his teasing later. He seemed earnest enough, soft, with no trace of his typical obnoxious attitude. Deciding that the potential consequences were worth the extra few minutes of rest, she sat back down, listening to the rustle of clothing behind her as he sat down on his knees and reached for her messy braid. Nimble fingers deftly weaved through the strands of hair, as gently as possible removing the worst of the knots and smoothing down the errant flyaways around her forehead.

The gentle touch had a calming effect on her and Sakura's eyes fell shut. She concentrated on her breathing and reached for her chakra, subtly coaxing it into moving, encouraging a steady flow through her pathways. A trick Akaho-san had shown her back when she had just begun teaching Sakura how to meditate properly. Chakra that was already in motion was easier to use and resulted in less waste. She thought of a small stream about to merge with a strong current, allowed herself to drift along in absolute harmony, let the water do the work for her. Slowly her temperature climbed as she sent chakra into every nook and cranny of her body, loosening stiff muscles until she felt comfortable enough.

“Moving out.” Junji's voice rose her from her trance, one of his hands resting on her shoulder as Sakura opened her eyes, gave a nod and got to her feet. Reaching for her hair, she let her fingers glide over the braid her senpai had woven, genuinely surprised at the intricate fish braid pattern.

“Thanks,” she murmured before picking her mask off the floor, moving it in place and quickly checking her pouches and blades. Everything was in place so Sakura nodded at the rest of the squad and together they left through the open window, rejoining the world outside.

The weather was much nicer than earlier. The ground was wet and slick, littered with large puddles and wide stretches of flat flooded land. Especially so close to the shore the winds were strong and as Sakura ran behind Junji, she softly snorted at his incredibly long hair whipping around his head. Maybe he should've braided his own hair instead of helping with hers.

They took only a few minutes to reach the coast. The sight of a calm, undisturbed sea relieved Sakura in ways she had no words to express. She wasn't sure she could've put up with another hour of too close calls and almost drownings. Together the four of them practically flew over the water, feet only occasionally touching down on the surface. Surprisingly enough Sakura wished the sky was clear and the sun high up above them instead of the layer of clouds that obscured the black starry night horizon. There was nothing quite like racing across a sparkling azure sea.

The distance between Yumishima and Tsukijima was about half of that between the former and the main island with the coast easily visible after just a few minutes of travel. This time they took no break and stayed close to the shore to avoid the woods occupying most of the area further inland. Just like ocean walking was a Kiri speciality, tree running was one of Konoha. Sakura had a mild advantage, having grown up in the Leaf village but she had seen the neck pains her comrades would get after prolonged missions on the main land.

Just about twenty minutes later her feet hit water once again and Sakura readied herself for the final stretch. Her chakra levels were still decent and she allowed herself a moment to be proud of not falling behind. She knew that ocean crossing was part of the jounin exams so the additional practise was certainly helpful. If she could keep up with her fellow jounin ANBU then she would be fine during the tests.

It took another hour to reach the border of Hills country. From a distance it looked much like a big wide blob of green that someone had planted right smack in the middle of the ocean. So much colour after spending weeks in Kiri with missions that kept her inside Mizu's border was a bit of an eyesore and she was glad that it was too dark for it to be a problem. Sakura squinted at the sight and blinked a few times. Still three months away from her first year anniversary in Kiri and the idea of lush forests, deserts and vibrant grassland already filled her with a distinct sense of distaste.

“Next break once we reach Tea,” Junji said just as they crossed the border and left the sea behind for good. Halting the chakra flow in her feet and reversing it to instead cycle it through her legs, Sakura prepared for a long run on solid ground. Without pausing she released his hook from the rope around her waist and rolled up the now loose end that used to be attached to Nanade before stuffing it back into her satchel and picking up the pace. What amounted to an on average two day journey from one end of Hills to Tea could be cut down to half a day with the aid of a solider pill and very fine chakra control. Or, in some cases, nigh endless stamina. In just a few weeks she would belong to the latter group and wasn't that just a disturbing thought. Sakura allowed her mind to wander as she skipped over rocks, avoided trees and followed her squad leader on pure instinct.

She had been prepared to the best of everyone's ability. Months ago Mei-sama had told her that she was to be the next container of the sanbi. The three-tails. Isobu. To call that piece of news a surprise was an understatement. She'd always known that she was different from those around her but the reason for that was that she had grown up in a foreign environment. In Kiri on the other hand, she was just one of many faces just how she liked it. Except not so much. Apparently the turtle had been confined to his puzzle box for years. Yagura had been his last host and he had been killed when her mother was already in Konoha, around the time Sakura had just become a genin. That was eight years of solitary confinement in a pretty little trinket.

From the lessons she had received on the topic of jinchuuriki and tailed beasts, it was rare for one of them to go for so long without being sealed. It made sense though, Sakura thought. Mei-sama had known of Yagura's child even if the details remained a mystery to her. She had taken the gamble to wait until his descendant either returned to the village on their own or she came across them. Removing an already sealed tailed beasts to transfer it to another hosts was almost impossible without killing the original container. Apparently Yagura was close to death's door when the sanbi had been stolen from him and only being sealed again once it was retrieved helped him recover fully. Everyone involved in the process as well as the preparation assured her that it would be fine. She was compatible with the sanbi as proven by the numerous successful bonding sessions. They were attuned to one another so the sealing itself would go smoothly.

Sakura wasn't too worried about that. What she _was_ worried about was carrying a powerful entity within her when she was naturally unstable. No matter how often the Mizukage insisted that he would be the number one source of control in her life, Sakura didn't quite believe her. She doubted she ever would until she could see it actually work.

The extra chakra was nice though. Once she learned to control it at least.

Hills and rocks disappeared as the ground flattened and an already green environment turned even _greener_. Sparse woodland became one thick forest and Sakura nearly smirked when Junji signalled them to take to the trees to avoid patrols and civilians on the road. Kiri was tentatively allied with Konoha but it was still better to prevent unnecessary interruptions. Three members of her squad would suffer from kinks in their necks on the way back. Maybe then they would be as miserable as her if the weather acted up again.

By now the last traces of salt and freshness in the air had disappeared, replaced by an almost stifling mixture of pollen, grass and resin. It was familiar but wrong and Sakura sniffed once. Kami help her if she started sneezing again. That hadn't been an issue for months.

They ended up having to take two small detours to avoid a jounin sensei with his team as well as an ANBU squad. Both were aware of each other but thankfully they hadn't stopped them. For good measure Junji signed in standard chuunin code that they were just passing through. After a few minutes Ichiyo let them know that they weren't followed anymore and the Konoha ANBU faded out of his sensory range.

Soon after Sakura could hear the faint calls of early morning birds, a small smile creeping on her lips as the first rays of light peaked through the thick canopy, waking up the wildlife surrounding them. They couldn't be far from the border now and just as the thought entered her mid, Junji stopped.

“How is your chakra level?” Sakura tried hard not to bristle at the question. He hadn't turned around but it was clearly aimed at her. She was quite aware that her reserves were only average, an irritating flaw to be blamed on her civilian grandmother. How nice of him to point it out.

“About half,” she replied through her teeth and forced the muscles in her arms to slacken. She refused to cross her arms and look like a petulant child.

“We'll rest for two hours. Ichiyo, scout ahead and find a trail.” The purple-masked shinobi gave a curt nod and shot off. Junji jumped off the branch he was squatting on and unceremoniously sat down on the grass below them, back resting against a wide trunk. Sakura took a deep breath to squash her rising temper and followed his lead. Without making a single sound her feet touched the grass and she selected the log next to Junji-senpai's, tilted her mask upwards by a single inch and took a deep breath. Then sneezed. Damn pollen.

“You did well during the storm,” he said quietly, voice low and silky as usual. Sakura found she liked him much better on missions where he was still himself but without the annoying bits. Junji was a willing mentor who had more to teach than she could ever learn. Plus, in his own way, he did look out for her no matter how much of a pest he could be.

“You had to help me. Thrice. I would've drowned,” Sakura grumbled, more to herself than anyone else, lips twisted in a silent snarl. That one was going to stay with her for a very long time.

“Ah, the weather was terrible. I've seen jounin who did worse. You held up quite nicely,” Junji said with a careless wave of his hand, removing the mask from his face and tilting his head backwards to absorb the warm rays of sunlight.

“Thanks,” she offered grudgingly. She might've objected to his praise but he didn't offer it freely. Sure, the hunter-nin was plenty nice but compliments regarding her skill were few and far in between. He made her work hard for his approval. Apparently satisfied with the conversation, the man closed his eyes and relaxed. Sakura contemplated losing the mask as well but felt vaguely naked without it outside of her village. Deciding against it, she closed her eyes as well, crossed one leg over the other and after catching the ration bar the medic threw in her direction, let herself drift off.

Eventually, Ichiyo returned. Sakura perked up when she heard the leaves above them rustle and blinked lazily before getting up. The air around them had warmed considerably within the last hour and for a brief moment she was envious of Junji's casual ensemble. He had a strong preference for haori much like Sakura except he liked to tie his around the hips thus exposing most of his bare chest. He looked like a waking talking security risk, not that he had ever paid for it.

“The target is about half an hour ahead of us, guarded by two Kusa jounin and five chuunin. No sign of Akatsuki yet,” he reported. Sakura lifted her arms above her head, stretched and shook her legs to get rid of any leftover tension. She was supposed to be the heavy hitter of the squad. Her odds against two enemy jounin were already somewhat questionable but with the addition of a whole chuunin squad? Well. She'd have the medic at her back. The few who made it into ANBU were right demons if handed a few senbon and a small blade or two. And Junji who could easily take on the whole group and kill them on his own would follow her into the fray. They'd be fine.

“Alright,” he said, straightened up and nodded at Sakura.

“You're with me. Once we close in on the mark, Ichiyo falls back and Nanade stays close by to provide ranged assistance,” Junji spoke with his mask back on and jumped into the nearest tree. Their pace resembled something of a light jog as opposed to travel speed to still conserve some energy before combat. With every step she made, Sakura felt her heart beat faster. Her hands began to tremble slightly as her breath ran short. Forcing herself to inhale slowly in an effort to calm herself, she reached for two senbon, preparing herself to engage. She tried to remember the last time she had killed someone. It had been three weeks. Sakura swallowed audibly and clutched the senbon tighter, anticipation racing through her body. The green around her began to fade as her vision focused, straight ahead, removing any and all distractions.

“Easy.” It was but a whisper in her ear like a humming bee, there yet not. She took one step after another in perfect sync with the beat of her heart, body tensed, sparks racing through her pathways. Unconsciously she encouraged her chakra to build and flow, thought of the stream and poured energy into it until it swell and grew, eventually roared with the force of a thousand rivers. Junji came to a stop in front of her. She halted, stilled, body coiled and ready to strike. His hands twisted and shaped signs.

'Ready,' he said. Then:

'On three.'

He tapped his thigh once. Then twice. On three, he closed his hand into a fist.

Sakura charged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer break between updates and longer chapters or more frequent updates and short chapters? I don't know :( 
> 
> I also tried to research Yagura's time line to try and make sure I get the order of the sanbi hosts right but man... that plot hole is the size of a damn car park. So I took creative liberties.


	4. Act I: Part IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gore. Oh god the fight scene. Did someone say Akatsuki? There's a hint of plot and Sakura's one anger-angsty fishy.

Sakura perfectly remembered her first kill. It had been in Wave and it hadn't been intentional. When the Demon Brothers jumped them, she hadn't stayed behind to protect the client. The task had fallen to the Uchiha instead. She had ducked to avoid the chain, thrown a kunai, then went close with her sword. The man was agile enough to keep her at bay until one of Naruto's shuriken flew past their intended target and hit hers in the shoulder instead. The distraction only lasted for a second. It had been enough for her to cut through his throat. She had expected him to dodge, then crumble when she went for his knees. Instead, a thick spray of blood had hit her right in the face. It hadn't been intentional but it happened regardless.

This was nothing like that.

The second she broke through the tree line, Sakura marked the targets. The merchant was in a carriage in the middle of the road. The two jounin were in front, the chuunin to the sides and at the back. Junji went straight for the jounin, leaving the five remaining shinobi to her. One of them had his neck exposed. Before they had even spotted her, she threw the senbon, watching them sink into the tender flesh of his nape. He crumbled instantly. Five heads whipped around, eyes wide as the men saw their masks side by side, red and blue, coming at them with incredible speed. Sakura landed right in front of the second chuunin, dodged an upwards swipe with a kunai and grabbed the wrist that held the weapon. Applying pressure she sidestepped him, raised their hands high in the air, then forced them down, guiding the kunai straight to his heart. It sunk into his chest like butter and when she pulled it out again, relished in the wet squelch and the red that poured from the wound. An iron smell filled her nostrils and despite herself, she growled.

Pushing the gasping chuunin away from her, Sakura whirled around just in time to deflect a kunai with the hilt of her katana before drawing the blade in one smooth motion. From the corner of her eye she saw one of the shinobi form a horse sign and instinctively dropped to the ground. A massive fireball exploded right where she stood just a second earlier, the sweltering heat burning her skin. Sakura rolled over, out of the way of a bunch of shuriken, then jumped to her feet and took a swipe at the chuunin in front of her. He avoided two strikes but not the wide sweep that took his head cleanly off his shoulders. A tidal wave of blood spurted from his neck, dousing his body and the grass beneath his feet in a sticky red.

Sakura took a deep breath and ducked her head to avoid another fireball. From her right came three sharp spikes of earth which she dodged by turning her body sideways. They went cleanly through the side of the carriage, prompting a terrified yelp from its occupant. Sakura reached for the wooden surface, stuck her hand to it with chakra and vaulted over the carriage fast enough to startle the katon user. He had no time to act. The tip of her blade buried itself in his left eye and Sakura forced it deeper, deeper until it broke through the other side of his skull.

The last chuunin howled in anger and came at her in a frenzy. Sakura reached behind her body and pulled two identical tanto from the sheaths attached to her lower torso. She ducked under the first swing and went for a stab at his gut. He parried and formed a quick series of seals just as she took a swipe at his nape. Feet first, he sank into the earth, forcing Sakura to go for the high ground. Crouching on top of the carriage she had a single moment to notice Junji holding, but not gaining any ground against the double teaming jounin. She frowned and weaved a quick genjutsu to turn herself invisible, followed by a water clone and conjured a thick mist. How were the jounin still alive? The chuunin went for the clone and Sakura stabbed him through the neck.

Pulling the tanto from his body, for a single breath, she was enraptured by the red lines running down the pristine metal and dripping onto the grass. The smell of iron clung to her skin like a piece of clothing, accentuated by the five corpses arranged around her in something barely resembling a circle, pale and red and dead. She heard the sharp clang of metal against metal and with a lurch, time resumed. Bringing her hands together, Sakura began forming signs, movements slightly impeded by the blades. Drawing upon her chakra and forming it into a ball in her chest, she then forcefully pushed it through her hands.

“ _Suiton: Mizu Arare!_ ” None of the bullets hit their mark but they forced one of the jounin to jump backwards, separating the two in the process. Without wasting any more time, Sakura flung herself at the one further away from Junji, gathered more chakra in her mouth and spit sharp, high pressure water needles at the male. Ducking and weaving he managed to avoid all but a single projectile which pierced his left thigh, tearing into the muscle and blasting a clean hole through the limb, no wider than her pinky. He cursed but raised his own tanto in time to block one hit, then parried the other. With a glint in her eyes, Sakura noticed how he favoured his uninjured leg and began pressuring his weakened side. The jounin was lithe and quick on his feet, agile despite the wound and gave as good as he got. Sakura conjured a water clone, then swapped with it to have a better view of Junji and his opponent when she realised what was bothering her.

He was playing with his food.

She couldn't pay much attention to their fight but even so it was obvious how much time her senpai wasted staying on the defensive as opposed to going for the kill. He _could_ have taken care of the two jounin ages ago, probably even finished them before Sakura killed the last chuunin. He had simply chosen not to.

_Why?_

Her moment of inattentiveness cost her. With a quiet curse she only barely managed to avoid decapitation and growled at herself, annoyed at her lack of focus. Baring her teeth despite them being covered by the mask, Sakura began to push. She reached for her chakra and cycled it through her system, becoming faster and faster, fast enough to meet the jounin's blade with her own, the force of her attack stunning and upsetting his balance. Time slowed down as Sakura pushed chakra to her feet, launched herself off the ground and forwards, swords crossed in front of her and aimed at his throat.

Her vision turned red. Thick, warm blood sprayed onto her mask and body, warm on her exposed arms as she was engulfed in a crimson mist. There was a dull thud of the jounin's head dropping onto the grass, then the sound of a body keeling over accompanied by a steady stream of blood spurting from the corpse, small puddle growing quickly. The smell was almost overwhelming by now and Sakura couldn't hear anything beyond the loud beat of her heart echoing in her ears. She caught a faint sense of amusement coming from a dark and hidden corner of her mind and the feeling of having done well. Yes. She had done well. She wanted to do even better. Not now, she told herself. Later. Not now. Taking a deep and shuddering breath, she kept the air in her lungs for a moment, then forcefully expelled it.

With a snap and a pop the world bled back into awareness. Her fingers were wet and sticky, her haori soaked and clinging to her skin, a red film covered the eye holes of her mask. Sakura closed her eyes for a second and breathed, slowed down the flow of her chakra until the electricity thrumming in her veins receded.

“Adrenaline high over?” How kind of him to call her genetic madness an adrenaline high, Sakura thought but only gave a sharp nod as answer, focusing on the silhouette of Junji holding their target's head in his hand as if he was carrying a basket filled with groceries.

“Why were you stalling?” she asked instead. Her voice was completely devoid of emotion and she didn't even mind that he had been play fighting. She just wanted to get him talking, to have something to focus on as she slowly found back to herself.

“Me? Stalling? Perish the thought. Don't you know hime, I always give it my all.” Not the straight forward answer Sakura would have preferred but oddly enough, his low and teasing tone went a long way in grounding her. A far cry from what Mei-sama could have done but familiarity had a way of keeping the crazy away.

“Do we clean up?” Sakura asked, raising an arm and using her sleeve to rub over the mask so she could see properly once again. Junji was absolutely pristine. Not a single drop of blood on his prized haori. Sakura on the other hand looked like she had bathed in the stuff.

“That would take forever.” So they weren't under orders to remove evidence which was a relief, honestly. Junji had a point. The entire battlefield was painted red, the occasional piece of brain grazing the red grass. She had done a right number on that jounin. Sakura accepted his statement with a nod, using the time he took to seal the head in a scroll to wipe her two tanto on an unsoiled part of her pants, then pulled her katana out of the chuunin's skull, repeating the process.

“You look nice by the way. All pretty and red.” Sakura couldn't help herself and snorted dryly, sheathing her katana and wiping her hands on the dead chuunin's vest.

“We match,” she said and pointed at her mask. It was bound to be as red as his. Junji chuckled lowly and reached over to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear. Sakura didn't have to see his face to know he was smirking.

“Only you would flirt over the remains of a massacre,” the tracker drawled as he touched down on the grass, taking in the state of her and the dead Kusa nin, giving the tiniest of nods.

“I know what I like,” Junji replied lightly, pulled back his hand before stowing the scroll somewhere in the depths of his haori.

“I kept watch around the perimeter and haven't picked up on any foreign signatures. However I don't advise we linger.” Sakura took that as a hint to get a move on so she stepped out of the blood and wiped the soles of her boots on a green patch of grass. Anyone with half a nose would be able to track them by smell alone but that didn't mean they had to make it easier for them.

“Injuries?” Nanade asked, appearing out of nowhere right next to the tracker. Sakura shook her head and shifted slightly as the dried blood started to itch.

“There's a small stream half a mile to the north,” Ichiyo added drily and Sakura ignored the underlying message of 'did you have to make such a mess?'. Like it had been intentional. Well, Sakura had to admit that she could have gone for a much cleaner execution. But unless she was ordered to do so she ran with her instincts. Which tended to be on the more violent end of the spectrum. It really wasn't her fault. Everyone and their mother blamed her grandfather for the almost downfall of Kirigakure so she might as well make him responsible for her tendencies. It was decidedly more pleasant than admitting to herself that she was nothing more than an accident waiting to happen. If she had to be brutally honest with herself, she'd have never allowed herself in the village. The Hokage had been wise to let her go.

“Ryo for your thoughts?” Sakura's head snapped to the side at the sudden interruption only to find Junji beside her, gesturing her to get a move on. Sakura shook her head and fell into a light run, following the tracker to the stream he mentioned earlier. Breaking formation, the hunter-nin moved closer to her until they ran side by side with the medic-nin a few steps behind them.

“Did she...” Sakura trailed off, pondering whether this was really the time and the place. She liked to keep her worries and most emotions close to her chest. Anger was the obvious exception since hers had proven impossible to control. But fear? Joy? Those were precious and private. If anyone were to realise that deep down Sakura was terrified of turning into a monster, chaos would spread. The village accepted her and her family, if grudgingly, because she exercised iron hard control over herself. Sakura meditated twice a day, spent most of her time on missions or the training grounds past the village border... She didn't want to become what Mei-sama had warned her about. Sure she didn't have many friends or a large family but Kiri was her home. The place she belonged to. She'd rather die than endanger it.

And they were going to seal a tailed beast inside her. Sakura would never dare speak ill of the Mizukage but surely she couldn't be the only one to doubt the wisdom of that decision? If Sakura were to snap she'd be much harder to put down with such power at her disposal.

“Nevermind,” she murmured, eyes focused on what laid ahead. This was an issue she probably should talk to Mei-sama about. The woman wasn't one to sugarcoat things, especially not issues concerning her family and Yagura in particular. And Sakura had never quite learned much about Junji. They weren't exactly friends nor mentor and protege. Despite his nigh constant flirting the nature of their relationship was far from romantic. Most of the time she didn't even know what to make of him and his contrasting ways. She probably shouldn't even talk to him about any of this. So she wouldn't.

“You sure?” he asked lowly, casual, but with a sideways glance towards her. There was little that happened in the village without Junji knowing about it. He knew when something was off. And if Sakura, emotionally crippled as she was, felt wrong then he was bound to notice it too.

“Taichou. The mission-” Nanade spoke up, then hushed instantly as the air around them cooled down considerably.

“-is over,” Junji finished with deceptive calm, a thin layer of ice coating his words in warning. Absent-mindedly Sakura realised that this was probably why other shinobi tread carefully around him. From experience she knew that this was but a fraction of the fury he was capable of evoking.

“And the eval-” The hunter-nin came to a dead stop. Sakura didn't flinch as she crouched down on the branch she was about to jump off of but shivered ever so slightly when the weight of his chakra became more oppressive like a freezing mist just moments away from turning into a thick block of ice.

“Sakura,” he said, quietly and slowly and she felt her breath still.

“Ao gave you a scroll with an A-Rank suiton jutsu,” Junji stated and Sakura gave a sharp nod, gaze flickering back and forth between him and the other two whose bodies were tense, ready to fight or flee - she wasn't sure.

“Demonstrate.” That was an order if she ever heard one. Sakura swallowed quietly. This was no time to demand answers. She had never seen him like this before and testing his patience didn't seem wise. Taking a deep breath, Sakura turned around so she faced away from her squad, then began with the hand seals.

_Tiger, Ox, Monkey, Rabbit, Ram-_

She reached for her chakra and formed it into a ball, spinning and turning inside her belly, expanding and growing in size as she continued to feed it more energy.

_Boar, Ox, Horse, Monkey, Tiger-_

Sakura firmly held onto the ball, put enough pressure on it so it didn't bend out of shape and forced it upwards through her pathways until it reached her chest where she split it in half.

_Dog, Tiger, Snake, Tiger, Ox, Monkey, Rabbit-_

Pushing the two halves through her arms and into her hands, she held onto them, still feeding chakra so they wouldn't collapse prematurely, then formed the last sign.

_Bird._

Sakura clasped the palms of her hands together, rejoined the two spheres into one, then angled her open palms away from her body towards the forest and with one last push forced the chakra out of her body.

“ _Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!_ ”

The stillness and peaceful atmosphere of the forest was shattered with a deafening roar and a rush of water shaped like a giant vortex tearing through the woods with the force of a waterfall. Entire trees were uprooted, branches snapped and leaves absorbed by the torrent that ripped apart everything in its path. Sakura released a shuddering breath, feeling empty and drained from the sheer intensity of the technique and the effort required to amass and stabilise the high pressure orb of chakra. She blinked a few times, then looked up and at the destruction she had caused. The jutsu had cut a straight line through the trees, carved a wide furrow into the earth and absolutely annihilated the woodlife ahead.

“Well done,” Jinju said from behind her, disturbing the silence that had fallen over them in the wake of Sakura's forest extermination, sounding both bored and pleased like he had never expected any other outcome.

“You passed.” She whirled around, a sharp movement that nearly sent her tumbling off the tree she was standing on, unsure if she had misunderstood him or not.

“Only the Mizukage can-” the tracker interrupted, earning himself a fierce glare from Junji that silenced him immediately.

“She passed,” the hunter-nin insisted, voice now reaching sub-zero temperatures. The tension between him and the other two were palpable and all Sakura could do was stand and stare, knowing that she was missing a piece of the puzzle but also unwilling to draw anyone's attention. Tempers were running wild and she felt no desire to be caught in between. Nobody seemed willing to move or end the stalemate, so Sakura reached for her satchel and bit into the last soldier pill she had brought with her. The tension in her fingers faded at the rush of chakra flooding her system and soon after her hands stopped shaking as well. The others were still quietly glaring at each other. Sakura frowned behind her mask, then with a soft sigh got to her feet.

“What did I pass.” She demanded rather than asked. The rush of energy left her restless and eager to move. Soldier pills worked like that. In an almost creepy show of synchronisation, Nanade and Ichiyo both turned their faces away from Junji-senpai and Sakura got the distinct impression that neither were particularly pleased with what was happening.

“Your jounin exam. Obviously,” Junji answered and Sakura paused. Blinked. Repeated the words in her head. Blinked again.

“ _What?!_ ” she hissed, just a second away from charging at the man with her fists because what the actual fuck? He tilted his head to the side, all signs of his former anger gone and replaced by an incredibly irritating air of smugness.

“What the hell are you talking about? The exam is scheduled for next week. I am studying for it. That's what I was doing _when you interrupted me with this damn mission!_ ” Sakura cursed at him, hands clenched so hard her knuckles turned white, entire body thrumming with electricity. Belatedly she realised that she shouldn't have taken the pill so soon. Being tired and spent would've made for a much better state of mind especially in light of this new revelation.

“The mission is the practical part of the exam. The three of us were appointed as your examiners,” Nanade explained coolly and Sakura noticed her temper spike as her chakra flared. Forcefully she wrestled it back under control but there was nothing to be done about her mood. This entire situation was beyond ridiculous.

“That's why you were fucking playing with the jounin,” she suddenly realised, still staring at Junji who was not fazed by her anger in the least. The asshole never was.

“ _You piece of-_ ”

Things happened very quickly after that. Junji tensed, jovial aura gone and replaced by tension, combat ready after he drew his katana. The med-nin jumped backwards, one senbon in between each of her fingers while the tracker threw a kunai in Sakura's direction, past her shoulder where it collided with something else, a faint clang being the only noise to interrupt the sudden stillness of the forest around them. Pure instinct and nothing else made Sakura snap around, body already leaning to the left to avoid another kunai that was deliberately aimed to miss. With a burst of chakra to her feet, she launched herself off the branch and fell back, coming to a stand next to her senpai. And that was when she spotted them.

“Four little sharks so far away from home. And one of them is coated in blood. Did you have a party?”

Tall and blue with Samehada strapped to his back, Sakura knew who he was immediately. She had heard the stories, most of them directly from Mei-sama herself. Hoshigaki Kisame. Former teammate of Terumi Mei's ANBU squad, former member of the Seven Swordsmen, current missing-nin and active Akatsuki.

“Just a tiny little jounin exam. You know how it goes, Kisame.” Junji sounded far too cheerful, the fakeness of it making Sakura's head ache. Didn't Akatsuki travel in pairs? Where the hell was his partner?

“Yeah, I can see that. Nice Waterfall jutsu. Did the fishy pass?” the criminal asked, apparently perfectly happy to play along with Junji's antics even if he looked and sounded incredibly menacing. His face was not made for happiness.

“Take a look. What do you think?” Sakura wanted to speak up and ask Junji why exactly he was making small-talk with a thief and a traitor instead of following the flee-on-sight orders they had been given when Hoshigaki's beady black eyes moved and focused on her.

“I think she looks like someone who kills messily even if she could make it clean instead.” Astute observation, Sakura thought drily and tensed her body, fingers clutching the handle of her tanto. She wasn't delusional. If it came to an altercation she would die but a short blade could still be thrown and grant an additional second to turn around and try running away.

“Ah. You would know,” Junji remarked flatly, prompting a predatory grin from the Akatsuki.

“Does the fishy speak?” Hoshigaki asked, still staring at Sakura who took solace in hiding behind the mask. Adrenaline ran through her veins, her body itching for action with her mind holding her back. Relying on instincts would get her killed but her mind whispered to her, telling her to stand down over and over again. This was a fight she couldn't win.

“Not that it wasn't great to see you again but if that's all we can just go our separate ways, yes?” Words of wisdom, at last. Junji didn't wait for an answer, jerked his left hand once and motioned for them to follow him. He didn't get very far. A wall of water appeared out of nowhere, right in front of him, forcing him to abort his jump and awkwardly stick himself to the branch with chakra to prevent falling off. Sakura drew her blades, teeth bared and facing the missing-nin whose hands were still formed into a dog seal.

“Unfortunately, you have something that belongs to us. We'd like it back.” A threat if she ever heard one and Sakura felt her heart beat elevate, lungs picking up the pace until her breath ran shorter. This went beyond simple adrenaline. Only a fool would not be afraid.

“You and who else,” Junji demanded, still appearing as if he was catching up with an old friend, stance relaxed, hands hanging at his side. He was the only one of their squad without weapons at the ready.

“My partner. He should be back any second now.” And indeed he was. As if summoned by the words, a second man appeared on the branch next to Hoshigaki, arriving at the scene without even a breath of air announcing his presence. Sakura recognised him instantly. Not by name though she did recall the Uchiha's ravings about an older brother of his. No, the looks were what gave him away. Pale, if sallow skin, eyes and hair both as black as the night.

“An Uchiha. That's unfortunate.” Sakura silently agreed. They might have been able to stall and outrun one of them. Not two. Oddly enough, the impassive Uchiha glanced at them but it was Sakura who caught his attention. He looked at her without saying a word, not focused on her eyes as a Sharingan wielder might but something else. Faster than it begun, the moment was over and the Uchiha turned to his partner.

“They took the head.” He was oddly soft-spoken for a criminal with a strong and refined Fire accent. Unarmed too, not that that meant anything.

“You can have it.” Sakura's eyes went wide and her mouth acted on its own accord.

“What the fuck, Junji.” Barely louder than a whisper, her words were clearly audible ever since the forest had come to a standstill after Hoshigaki's arrival. She could practically feel the other two ANBU's disapproval but her eyes were stuck on Junji who pulled the sealing scroll from the insides of his haori and chucked it at the former swordsman.

“No A-Rank bounty is worth dying for.” There was more to that, other things he didn't say but Sakura was itching to hear nonetheless. Junji never failed missions. He certainly didn't just abandon them. He _did not_ hand them to the enemy.

“That was almost too easy. Here I was hoping for that second round you promised me ten years ago.” The shark man had a point. It was far too easy. A growl made its way up her throat and Sakura forced it down, baring her teeth instead. First he forced her on this mission without telling her that it was actually her practical jounin exam and now he willingly failed the same rotten mission without a good reason! Kami, he didn't even try!

“Unfortunately I'm all out of rounds. Will you let us go now?” Now she picked up on it. The faintest hint of tension in his voice, so unnatural and foreign that she failed to notice it before. There was definitely something wrong, terribly wrong and it made her _itch_.

“You know, I've never seen you so eager to run from a fight before. What's got you in such a hurry?” Hoshigaki asked, eyes narrowed and head tilted to the left, scrutinising Junji as if trying to figure him out. Of course he had picked up on it. An S-Rank criminal was about a hundred times more perceptive than a fresh not-quite jounin. Sakura wanted to leave. Preferably yesterday.

“Mizukage-sama doesn't like to be kept waiting. The sooner we return, the sooner I can take an S-Rank to make up for the mission I just failed.” That would've sounded reasonable, had it come from literally anyone else. Nanade and Ichiyo had kept silent so no matter how much Sakura waited to do something, anything, to get out of this situation, she refrained from giving in to the urge. Death was not just around the corner, it was right in front of them and currently deciding on whether to follow through or not. Sakura tightened the grip on her weapons, shifting by the tiniest of margins but even that was enough. From the corner of her eye she watched Junji's fingers twitch. Nine out of ten shinobi wouldn't have noticed. Hoshigaki did. The missing-nin hummed slowly, cold empty eyes now firmly set on Sakura.

“You're worried about your fishy. Has your icy heart finally thawed?” He sounded amused and crossed his arms over his broad chest. Sakura gulped and looked at Junji who was still the very image of calm and relaxed but standing so close to him, she could feel the coldness radiating from his skin.

“Mizukage-sama doesn't take kindly to dead junior jounin.” While technically true, that was a lame excuse and Sakura burned with the need to learn why the hell Junji was so eager to get her out of their proximity. Yes she had issues with her impulse control, a terrible temper and a strong degree of certified madness but she was far from being a loose cannon. She was still a year or two away from fully maturing and Sakura knew that Mei-sama had told Junji that before then she was still able to exercise a sufficient amount of self censure.

“Funny how times have changed. Yagura turned getting them killed into a sport.” Sakura felt herself twitch at the mention of that name, further unsettled by the blue man's dry chuckle. Good to know that he wasn't holding a grudge. Junji felt no need to comment on that and they fell into a tense silence. Simply leaving was out of the question. Any sudden movement could be the spark the lit the fire and Junji, who had gone above and beyond, to avoid conflict wouldn't take that risk. Surprisingly enough it was neither of the two men who had carried the bulk of the conversation who ended the stalemate. It was the Uchiha.

“How is my brother?” Sakura's head whipped around, eyes wide, expression incredulous. Out of all the things to ask he chose to enquire about his damn brother?! Masks and faces alike turned to her so she swallowed and gave a simple shrug.

“I wouldn't know,” she offered casually, carefully watching for a visible reaction but where the younger Uchiha was all fire and motion, the elder brother didn't so much as twitch.

“Eight months ago he was still in Konoha,” Sakura added and received a gentle nod of acknowledgement in return. Apparently satisfied, the Uchiha withdrew from the conversation, pointedly glancing at his partner who sighed in response.

“Well I suppose we should head back. Leader-sama is getting impatient.” Relief flooded Sakura like a drug and she couldn't help but relax, raised tanto lowering ever so slightly as the two Akatsuki turned around. Junji didn't speak but signalled them to move out and was about to jump when Hoshigaki offered his parting words.

“I hope your fishy can swim. There's a storm coming and you wouldn't want her to sink, now would you”

Sakura froze and turned around but the man was already gone. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“Move it, Sakura.” That was Nanade and she didn't sound like she was playing around so Sakura put her thoughts on the backburner and followed the medic, realising that Junji had long since run off and was barely visible from where she was standing. The earlier sensation of wrongness came over her again and now that they were out of danger, she was going to get answers. Biding her time, Sakura sprinted through the forest, hot on Junji's heels who seemed to be just fast enough to prevent her from catching up to him. She grit her teeth, realising exactly what he was doing. The pest knew that she wanted to talk to him but didn't trust her to wait until they had at least one country in between them and the Akatsuki.

So Sakura did the only thing she could so. Biting the inside of her cheek, she forced any and all thoughts away and concentrated on running instead. Without proper formation the squad sprinted through Tea, quickly crossing the border into Fire where the forest thickened and darkened. Not much longer and the sun would set. With their current pace they would reach Hills before the lights went out but all things considered – Junji's uncharacteristic agitation during the standoff with Akatsuki, his willingness to quit the mission, all in effort to get her away from them as quickly as possible – didn't suggest that they were going to stop for the night. Focusing on the flow of her chakra, Sakura prioritised efficiency over raw power, barely slowing down at all yet making the most of her steadily dwindling supply. She was in no condition to cross the ocean and prayed that Junji wouldn't just pick her up and carry her over the sea himself. She wouldn't put it past him.

Just as the sun set over the rocky landscape of Hills country, dousing the environment in a deep orange glow, Junji finally stopped. Without a word he made for a small rock formation surrounded by a flowery patch of grass that was split in two by a small stream, stopped close to the edge of the water and then, finally, relaxed. The tension in his shoulders disappeared as he sat down, legs loosely crossed in front of his body, hands making quick work of the mask. She had never seen the stress lines in his face before.

“We'll stay here for the night. I'll take first watch, Nanade second, Ichiyo third, Sakura last. Departure at dawn.” The medic and tracker both instantly settled down in the small gap between two rocks, just large enough to provide space for two people as long as they didn't mind being squished together. Keeping one eye on Junji to make sure he stayed put, Sakura got rid of her mask and began stripping behind his back. He was kind enough to turn his body away from her when she approached the stream and hissed as her foot came in contact with the cold water. Goosebumps spread all over her skin but she clenched her teeth and within one breath and the next, completely submerged her body in the water. And kami be her witness, it was _icy_.

“Fuck,” she breathed through clattering teeth and quickly set on scrubbing her skin, turning the clear water an ugly brown. A lot of the blood on her clothes had seeped through the fabric and dried blood on naked skin was beyond uncomfortable.

“If that's an offer, I'm down to unwind.” At least he was back to his usual self, Sakura thought with no small amount of relief. Funny how much she usually detested his personality but also hated him acting out of character more.

“You could tell me why you gave up our bounty,” Sakura said in lieu of an answer, briefly dunking her head underwater and moving her fingers through the hair of her scalp. She could take the time to wash it properly once they were back home. Dragging herself out of the stream, Sakura was pleasantly surprised by a small towel that waited for her on the grass and grunted a simple 'thanks'.

“It was just an A-Rank. Your promotion will make up for the lost money.” Not in actual monetary value but at least he was pleased about her promotion despite the shitshow their mission had turned into. The other two weren't nearly as forgiving.

“Doesn't explain why you did it,” Sakura insisted as she dried her body as quickly as possible, not willing to spend another minute in the nude. Junji sighed and tilted his head upwards, gazing at the rapidly darkening horizon.

“Unfortunately for you, you have a very distinct kind of killing intent. He deserted during the Yondaime's reign of tyranny after he made Kisame commit countless cruelties he never signed up for. If he had noticed you for who you really are you wouldn't have left that forest alive.”

Oh. That explained the medic's use of her first name.

“Is it really that obvious?” Sakura asked, deciding not to mull over the rest of what he said. How easily she could've died there and then, how narrowly she had avoided certain death... later, she told herself. Later.

“Only to those who were close to him. Kisame was one of his bodyguards, I was one of the few who regularly debriefed with him in person,” Junji explained while Sakura climbed into her pants, stepped into her boots and pulled the mostly clean dark grey shirt over her head. The body armour had taken the bulk of the blood, not to mention her haori which was probably ruined for good.

“The sanbi's chakra tended to flare up whenever he was angry and it felt acidic, sharp and like it could eat through your flesh even at a distance. But most of the time it was just a constant presence, pressing down on everyone in the room, as if you were drowning. I remember one unlucky genin worked himself into a panic, so convinced he was actually suffocating that his lungs collapsed.” By now Sakura was used to hearing one horror story after another about her late grandfather. She was used to his name being treated like a curse and spoken in fear, used as reminder of dark times and word of caution. Maybe one day she would ask Mei-sama for nice memories instead.

“You radiated the same pressure when you faced off against the Kusa nin. Didn't it feel just a little too easy? Like they were slow, sluggish?” Now that he mentioned it... the fight had been easier than expected. The chuunin hardly put up a fight and even the jounin's performance had been somewhat lacklustre. Sakura had attributed that to the lacking skill of Kusa nin in general. After all they didn't have the best of reputations.

“To me it's barely a blip on the radar. The Yondaime used it as a weapon, wielded it like an expert. In comparison, yours is lacking. But it was still enough to throw the Kusa nin off their game. You don't even notice you're doing it, it's just part of the frenzy. Which made it very, _very_ important that you kept your cool around Kisame.” Which was why Junji had treated the whole situation like some sort of casual get together. He had given her little reason to get lost inside her own mind. Sakura wasn't sure if she should be relieved or annoyed at the ease with which he manipulated her. She had a nagging suspicion that Mei-sama had left him with specific instructions to do just that. And thus, lowkey manipulating their own performance exam. Choosing not to worry about that since Junji appeared convinced that she had passed, Sakura dropped the matter for now.

“So we failed the mission because I'm unstable. Great,” she muttered under her breath, grabbed her mask and knelt down next to the stream. It was getting harder to see as the last remnants of sunlight disappeared but she kept her mind on the task. There was nothing to be done about the state of her clothing but at least the mask could be pristine for when Sakura received her promotion.

“Only temporarily, no use in brooding over it. Are you interested in the results of your examination?” An obvious tactic but Sakura allowed it, partly because she was genuinely curious but also didn't care for going down that particular rabbit hole. After all there was nothing she could do about it other than be glad that she hadn't peaked yet and was getting saddled with a turtle shaped bandaid soon.

“I got a few complaints that I was going too easy on you but between the two of us, they were always going to be stricter than necessary because of your heritage. Everyone who knows of Yagura and Chigiri is always going to be extra careful around you. The Mizukage's patronage turns a lot of wheels but not all of them. Something to keep in mind for the future.” As if any of that was news. Sakura didn't point out that she never felt unjustly scrutinised or criticised by either of the other ANBU. She had felt the consequences of her heritage in other situations and it was also why she tended to keep to herself, mild misanthropy aside. Sakura could count her friends on one hand and that was with very liberal interpretation of the definition of 'friend'.

“Your general conduct was professional and you followed hierarchy. You know your limits and showed no signs of recklessness or overconfidence. You had rotten luck during the first half of ocean crossing but did extremely well for a chuunin and very decent for a jounin. During the second half, your performance was exemplary.” He _had_ commented on that a few hours ago. In hindsight, Sakura was beyond frustrated with herself for not connecting the dots sooner. Of course they would disguise the exam as a mission and spring it on unsuspecting candidates. What better way to gauge their skills and attitude than by sending them on a mission? Kami, the Mizukage herself had ordered them to leave the fighting to her and there had been no logical reason for Nanade or Ichiyo to refrain from engaging enemies unless they were analysing her abilities instead.

“Your stamina is up to standard, your chakra levels a little lower than desired but that problem's going to take care of itself in a month so no objections there.” And thereby creating a whole nother world of issues but apparently that wasn't worth mentioning.

“You're a good fighter but you know that. You've been good enough for ANBU in Konoha and while we have higher standards, you've been ready in that regard roughly a month after you joined the village. No need to thank me, by the way.” Without thinking, Sakura launched a senbon at Junji's head, only mildly disappointed when he caught it out of the air, turning around with an easygoing smirk on his face.

“You assess, prioritise, employ tactics. You're a bit heavy on instinct rather than calculation but they're good instincts. Honestly, your biggest problem is your impulse control. You'll need to spend a lot of time working with the sanbi and that kind of trust is hard won. Considering that Mizukage-sama is going to take you off the roster for a few months after the sealing it won't be a problem.” Apparently a lot of the things Sakura worried about 'were not a problem' and Junji's casual attitude towards them was more than just a little irritating. But what else could she expect from a man who 100% operated on calculated action and reaction.

“And you passed the written portion days ago when Ao quizzed you before handing over the Great Waterfall scroll.” For fuck's sake. Sakura had been taking the entire exam without once realising that she was doing so in the first place. What kind of jounin didn't notice they were being tested? She could have blamed it on being somewhat preoccupied with thoughts concerning her pending jinchuuriki status but that would be nothing but a lazy excuse. Kami when had she become this self-absorbed?

“So, to summarise... you passed the written exam with flying colours, meet all the hard requirements, your combat abilities are up to standard with a nice variety of different styles and you function well within established hierarchies as well as conducted yourself like a respectable shinobi of Kirigakure.”

“...thanks.” Maybe her reaction fell flat but Sakura wasn't sure what else to say. It was one thing to do well and know so but an entirely different matter to have someone else, especially someone like Junji of the Crimson Shade, pick apart one's performance and find it up to, if not exceeding, standard. She would not blush in front of this man. She _refused_ to.

“Ichiyo and Nanade won't be as positive in their assessment but they'll put you forward for promotion nonetheless. The only reason they complained earlier was because it's technically against the rules for an examiner to spoil the surprise. That's the Mizukage's job.” Junji had done her a favour there because Mei-sama would've employed violence to silence Sakura once she inevitably lost control of her mouth and emotions the second the older woman revealed the true nature of their mission. The Mizukage never raised her voice but well-aimed senbon or brute force impacts with the handle of her clan dagger conveyed more than yelled insults ever would.

“Come here.” Sakura tilted her head and squinted at Junji-senpai, trying to suss out or not whether she was going to regret doing as he requested or not. Considering how most of the mission went the odds were low. She sighed quietly, dropped her mask onto the grass next to the discarded body armour and haori before crossing the short distance between them. Wordlessly she lowered herself onto the ground, complying when he reached for her shoulders and turned her around until she sat in front of him with her back just inches away from his chest.

A quiet hum appeared out of nowhere and rumbled low in his chest as he reached for her hair and began the arduous task of untangling the wet remains of Sakura's braid. The melody the hunter-nin hummed was foreign to her but had a soothing effect on her nerves that, combined with the light and gentle touch, slowly but steadily smoothed over the rough edges of the day. Sakura closed her eyes and let her temper settle, allowed the anxiety to fade away as she bit by bit, forgot about jounin exams, dangerous missing-nin and ominous parting words. With fingers in her hair and Junji's steady and familiar presence behind her back, Sakura slowly drifted off into a restful sleep.

She dreamed of a red sea, the corpses of her family and friends at her feet and when she stared at her own reflection, saw her eyes as they changed from green to magenta. When she woke up only the echo of a male voice, completely foreign but painfully familiar, remained.

**Sa.**

**Ku.**

**Ra.**

The next day was marked by an early morning. So early that the sun hadn't even risen yet and when Sakura woke, it was with a raging headache. Apparently she had been closer to chakra exhaustion than she thought. She groaned as her eyes fluttered open and arched her back, cringing at the loud snap of her spine as it popped. The first ray of light peaked over the hills and Sakura blinked.

“You didn't wake me for my watch,” were her first words, directed at Junji who sat and meditated to her left, completely unfazed by her groggy glare.

“You needed the rest.” Of course the menace was chipper and energetic even after taking both of their watches. One day. Revenge. Eventually. Sometimes, Sakura wasn't a very complicated thinker.

“Your hair looks nice,” he then said and she automatically touched it with her hand before noticing the self satisfied curl of his lips and remembering that he had re-braided it for her. And she had fallen asleep during the process. Possibly against him. Fucking fantastic. Sakura forced herself to get up and swiftly slipped into her body armour but stuffed the haori into Junji's pack. He had the space. Splashing some water into her face, she noticed that without the haori she looked a lot like standard Konoha ANBU. Only the different colour scheme and mask identified her as Kiri shinobi. Unacceptable. As soon as she got back home she had to browse the markets and look into personalising her outfit. Sakura had worn her beloved haori for the majority of her chuunin career but now that it was thoroughly and irreparably ruined maybe it was time for a change.

Sensing the presence of the entire squad behind her, Sakura rubbed her face dry and slipped the mask back on. Just a minute of strapping on sword belts, followed by said swords, later they were ready to go. The trek through Hills was uneventful and for once Sakura was glad for it. The only satisfying part of that cursed mission/exam was the expectation of being promoted to jounin. It was a big step and according to Mei-sama the last requirement she had to meet to finally claim her inheritance. Whatever that meant.

For the longest time, Sakura had considered her mental instability to be said inheritance yet apparently there was more to it than 'mere' psychopathy. Her mother would never be able to ascend to head of the clan – what little of it that remained – since she was a civilian but Sakura? Perfectly able. And willing. Perhaps it was weird to be proud of being head of a clan that was despised by the majority of its home country but Sakura had spent the majority of her life under the impression that she had no clan, no family, no real home. She'd carry the green flower insignia of the Karatachi with pride and felt an odd sense of contentment brush against her consciousness.

“Oh finally,” Sakura murmured under her breath when the thick and sickening sweetness in the air faded, replaced by the familiar salty musk of the ocean.

“Ask for an allergy shot during the post-mission checkup,” the medic said not unkindly and Sakura found herself nodding in agreement. Pollen were the invisible assassins of the forest. Hooks and wire ropes were attached in record time, then the journey across the water began. It was a nice day, bright and sunny, creating a lush azure wonderland, full of life and sparkle and Sakura honestly wished she could take a photo and keep it with her forever. Sights like these were rare in Kiri which was dark and dreary with plenty of rain and storms most days of the year. The impression that Mizu was one big tropical resort stemmed from mainlanders who had never been to Kiri in their damn lives. There were two islands whose climates were reliably tropical and both of those were close to the mainland. Everything to the east of Kiri was nigh inhabitable and the northern most islands were frosty and cold.

Tsukijima was nice and somewhat green as always, Yumishima was dead and dreary as always. Nothing out of the ordinary there. The final stretch was the most unpleasant, about halfway between Yumi and Kiri the rain started, accompanied by a steady current from the south. Nothing in comparison to the tragedy that the storm had been but still enough to create a few waves and unsteady conditions. This time Sakura didn't go under. She still ended up soaked. Some fights just couldn't be won.

When the gates of Kiri appeared in the distance, Sakura felt all former negativity and leftover tension just melt away. She'd never admit to it later but she almost skipped the rest of the way, breathing familiar fresh and more importantly, pollen-free air, felt a deep sense of home and belonging, surrounded by countless different shades of grey. And of course being able to drip all over Mei-sama's beautiful burgundy carpet was always a delight.

“You're back early,” the Mizukage noted in stark contrast to how she'd complained about them being tardy on the day of their departure.

“Minor complications arose. The mission was a failure. Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi arrived and we bartered with the target's head for our freedom.” Mei-sama was displeased, that much was obvious. Her painted lips twisted into a silent snarl the second the ex-swordsman's name came up but she didn't question Junji-senpai's decision to give up the bounty in order to escape unscathed.

“Unfortunate but acceptable. And the other mission?” Here, Junji gave a single sharp nod which, after a small delay, was echoed by the medic and the tracker. Mei-sama seemed pleased and looked at Sakura who didn't react for a moment, then decided to be spiteful and ruined the surprise.

“I passed,” was all she said, saw the outrage at her audacity which then gave way for ire aimed Junji until it finally changed to reluctant amusement.

“Good for you.” The whole thing was an anticlimactic as Sakura felt so she remained silent as Junji gave a more detailed report, recounting their journey, the weather complications, then the pursuit of the target, the combat itself which was where Nanade and Ichiyo shared their own observations until they reached the part where Akatsuki appeared.

“And you're positive Kisame doesn't know who she is?” Mei-sama asked, voice as sharp as her eyes, treating the matter as something more serious than Sakura thought it warranted. Not that she'd discount the potential danger the shark man posed to her general health and safety but it wasn't like he'd go out of his way to hunt her down only for clan and blood. Right?

“We wouldn't be here otherwise. It's something to keep in mind though. We won't be able to hide the fact that we regained one of our tailed beasts forever. Everyone knows Utakata is AWOL and while a sealed sanbi won't mean much to the general population...” Junji trailed off, meaningful silence in the wake of his words.

“Hoshigaki will know that a sealed sanbi means an eligible Karatachi. He knows me, knows that I would've waited. Damnit,” Mei-sama quietly cursed under her breath, fingers laced together and resting on her desk, knuckles white.

“He has... taken minor interest in Karatachi-san. Nothing specific but he remarked on both her bloodied appearance, correctly identifying her violent combat style as well as her exemplary execution of the Great Waterfall jutsu. He also noticed that taichou's eagerness to leave and readiness to hand over the bounty were rooted in his desire to get her out of Hoshigaki's sight. He knows she's important, at least to Junji-sama,” Ichiyo piped up, carefully navigating the minefield he had willingly entered, braving the icy spike of Junji's chakra. Sakura swallowed quietly at the realisation that it sounded more and more like there was an S-Rank missing-nin out there that was going to have a bone to pick with her in the near future. The Mizukage's lips thinned until they were nothing more than a narrow line and her emerald eyes were narrowed and as hard as steel as she attempted to stare a hole straight through Junji's forehead. That was when Sakura remembered.

“He said something else,” she pointed out, thinking back and recalling the memory.

“He said he hopes that I can swim. So I won't drown in the coming storm.” The expression on Mei-sama's face became even fiercer and despite not being a sensor, Sakura felt the powerful roil of her chakra that burned both hot and cold at the same time, like waves crashing against an active volcano.

“It's a good thing we're teaching you how to swim then,” the older woman finally answered after a long stretch of silence and hell if the words didn't sound ominous. Gracefully, she rose from her chair and rounded the desk, coming to a dead stop in front of Sakura.

“Congratulations, Karatachi Sakura. You are hereby promoted to the ranks of the Kirigakure no Sato jounin corps. Enjoy your privileges and fulfil your duties, as she wills and commands.” With a pinch of one of her sharp nails, the Mizukage pierced the skin of her thumb and then removed Sakura's mask before painting, with her own blood, the waves of Kiri's symbol onto Sakura's forehead.

“Bound by blood and water, from the sea you came and to the sea you will return,” she murmured lowly, thumb lingering briefly against her skin before withdrawing. Sakura bowed her head to her kage, went to her knees and lowered her gaze.

“Thank you, Mizukage-sama.” Nobody dared to interrupt the hushed atmosphere until Mei-sama herself spoke up.

“Well. Now that that's over with, we can focus on the next task at hand.” Sakura got back to her feet and found herself looking straight into eyes as green as hers. Absent-mindedly she realised that the office had emptied out and only the two of them were remaining.

“I have recruited the elders along with the jounin and ANBU commanders to shoulder a lot of my more day to day administrative duties,” the Mizukage spoke, still completely focused on Sakura who ignored the urge to squirm. That woman could be painfully intense when she wanted to.

“We will be spending a lot of time together in the coming months,” she continued and Sakura blinked in response.

“Tomorrow you will temporarily move into my residence. We will eat and train together and I will personally oversee your training along with Junji-san and Ao-san. You have bonded with Isobu but you and I still have a long way to go. We have a month to reach the level of understanding we need in order to function properly.” Sakura didn't dare interrupt the woman but she thought they had already reached an understanding. She was certainly able to shake Sakura from her frenzies.

“Once our bond is established it will remain stable enough to last through your maturing phase and continue to be a steady source of stability in adulthood,” Mei-sama added, more formal than she had ever seen her and hell if the sight wasn't daunting.

“Trust me when I tell you that you haven't even scratched the surface of the Karatachi madness.” Sakura gulped and for the first time in her life, felt honestly and truly _afraid_.

**Sa-Ku-Ra.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear GOD, writing long chapters in one sitting is EXHAUSTING. How do people do this? I want to go back to my scrappy snapshot style. Updates will be slower but I'll make an effort to provide chapters at a steady pace. And roughly this length. Please end me now. 
> 
> Also, the struggle when you're excited about telling your story but hate your writing is real.
> 
> Aaaaanyway, hope you liked it! :)


	5. Act I: Part V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura's still a teenager and this chapter reminds us of that. A lot of angst and feels. Clan stuff. Mei. Junji. Surprise appearance, yay! Isobu wants to see the manager.
> 
> My summaries suck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANNOUNCEMENT:
> 
> I want to thank everyone who read, enjoyed and commented on this story. The support means a lot to me and makes it possible to stay motivated. I struggle with this project more than I expected which is why I will update roughly once a week (with possible exceptions) instead of trying to force myself to post a new chapter every three days.  
> I need breaks because enthusiasm is sadly not enough to overcome the massive hurdle that actually writing this story is. The plot is finished. The story is done from start to finish in my personal notes. All that's left is writing which... yeah. Stressful. 
> 
> On a completely unrelated note, it's incredibly rewarding to write a story with characters that are barely present in canon because the lack of personality creates endless possibilities. Even if that results in this story being so AU it's almost not Naruto anymore. You know Naruto, right? The dude the show's named after? He ain't here.

Living with Mei-sama was weird. She did not, as Sakura expected, reside in the Mizukage's quarters that made up the top floor of the building. She had yet to learn the exact reasons for that but that was something to ask about some other day. Instead the woman ('Just Mei, Sakura-chan. I think we're past the honorifics when it's just the two of us') had reclaimed her clan estate. The compound had fallen into disrepair during her time in exile after the Yondaime banished her from Kiri and the subsequent slaughter of most of her family. According to Mei, the few remaining Terumi had scattered and spread across the nine islands that made up Mizu no Kuni. Only her and a small number of cousins had returned to the village.

Even though the woman didn't outright say so, Sakura could read between the lines and sympathised with her desire to stick close to the rest of her family. Many of the homes went unclaimed but the streets were clean and the gardens groomed, the atmosphere ghostly and desolate yet stately and pristine as befitting one of the two founding clans of Kiri. The compound was in a much better overall state than Sakura's own which was all but razed to the ground. Even going near the ruins was considered bad luck but she liked to visit them on occasion as if inspecting the ashes of an entire legacy she never got to see prosperous, somehow brought her closer to those who came before her.

It was a sobering sensation, to be faced with evidence of the village's hatred for the Karatachi. The Terumi on the other hand? Children gathered shells from the shores and placed them in front of the compound's entrance. Poor and struggling street vendors handed Mei their fried fish for free if she just so much as looked at their stalls. Shinobi who had been present the day the renegades returned with the now Mizukage leading them, bowed just a little deeper than necessary. Sakura hadn't spent much time pondering these issues before, saw no need to. Mei was firmly on her side, had enforced an unspoken sort of immunity, the specifics of which she had never shared. Sometimes she asked herself how much of it was political and how much was just trying to make up for her father's mistakes. No matter how different they were and how the paths of their clans had split, both Sakura and Mei had to atone for the sins of their ancestors. Even if some sins were more obvious than others.

Kiri loved the Terumi just as much as it hated the Karatachi. The heroes and the villains of each other's stories. Sakura wondered if people's minds would change if they knew of their clan's near co-dependency and the failings of Mei's father. It didn't help that lately Sakura had found herself under increased scrutiny. Someone, somewhere, had run their mouth and now everyone and their mother knew that Sakura was going to be the sanbi's container in just a few short weeks. Walking through the streets next to Mei had once been enough to divert attention from her to the older woman. Not anymore.

Eyes followed her everywhere, the civilians being much more obvious than the ninja. No one was outright unfriendly but every now and then, parents pulled their children closer as she passed by or went out of their way to avoid Sakura in the saddest attempt of feigning nonchalance she had seen to date. It was no wonder then that Sakura preferred to stay inside the compound. The occasional visit to her parents happened in the dead of the night but other than that she left only to hound her favourite training ground. Most days she slept in her new bed. Other times she let herself drift off on the beach, waking to the tides nipping at her feet and Junji meditating next to her.

It was all so... lacklustre. Dissatisfying. Monotony. Not good enough.

Sakura shook her head in an effort to expel those thoughts. Nothing good ever came from someone like her feeling like they should be doing more. With a long sigh, she got to her feet and wiped the sand off her trousers. Sakura wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting at the shore, staring at the wide vast sea but the air had cooled down considerably. She took one last look at the ocean, set alight by a glowing orange sun, then turned around and made her way back towards the village. Dragging her feet because she was especially moody today and had no energy left over to reign in her emotions, Sakura hoped that Mei had already gone to bed by the time she stepped into the compound. The odds were tragically low since the Mizukage liked to retire late and get up even later. Half of their conversations were held in the dead of the night which forced Sakura to adjust her sleeping schedule.

A particularly strong gust of wind whipped past her, clouding her vision pink as her hair covered her sight. Sakura grunted quietly and shoved her hands through the strands, wrestling them back in place. She was going to have to cut it soon. Would have done so ages ago, except the first time she had tried to do so, Junji had yelped and promptly stolen the scissors. And kunai. Even her tanto. Apparently her hair was too beautiful to be cut. Sakura vehemently disagreed, not that anyone paid attention. Its texture was rough and tended to get tangled, a far cry from Junji's natural silky locks. He had then quoted the cultural significance of long hair which, to be fair, did explain the unnaturally high percentage of high ranking shinobi with hair that went past their waists. Not everyone was as extreme as the hunter-nin whose strands reached down all the way to his hips when bound into his typical high ponytail. Or even worse, Mei who always sat on it in the mornings before waking up properly.

“I know that look. You're thinking of doing something I'm not going to like.” Speaking of the devil. Sakura raised a hand and gave the auburn-haired woman a lazy wave. Lost in her thoughts, Sakura hadn't even realised how close she was to the walls.

“Cut my hair?” It was worth a try, the instant and firm denial absolutely expected. She sighed and fell in step with Mei who led her through the rarely used, somewhat hidden gate at the back end of the village. A remnant of days long passed, access used to be restricted to members of the founding clans to covertly enter their shared training grounds. Stepping through the wooden arch, Sakura kept her gaze firmly locked on the faded blue walls around the Terumi compound, refusing to acknowledge the crumbled pieces of green painted stone to her right.

“Hurts, doesn't it,” Mei murmured lowly, words quiet enough to nearly be swallowed by the sound of people going about their lives in the distance. Sakura felt her temper flare and dug her nails into her palms.

“No,” she ground out, fooling absolutely nobody but hoping she got the message across. She was in no mood to talk. She never was. Not about this.

“I keep waiting for you to ask me about him. Your clan. Things like traditions, history... memories. I'm beginning to think you never will.” Oh, she was going to force the issue. Fucking fantastic. Sakura bit the inside of her cheek and forced herself to unclench her hands. The thin trail of blood running down her finger and dripping onto the ground went unnoticed.

“I don't care.” A bold-faced lie. If anything, Sakura cared too much. She didn't trust herself to stay in control once that particular barrel of fish was opened. She wasn't ready, might never be. In the end it was her decision to make. No one else's. Certainly not a Terumi's.

“We both know that's not true.” Sakura exhaled through her nose, staring straight ahead and refused to acknowledge the woman's words. She quietly thanked the heavens for the current silence and hoped that the topic was over and done with. At least for now. In reality, the weight Sakura carried on her shoulders was one that never truly went away. It was the last thing she forgot just before falling asleep and the first thing she remembered after waking up. Her dreams were filled with dark shadows and splatters of red, whispering to her in voices she had never heard before but felt so _right_ it physically hurt. They showed her fields covered in green flowers under a pale sky, a deep magenta sun turning the scene into an unholy nightmare. Murmurs of her name, repeated endlessly in the same harsh tone, demanding her attention, not asking but expecting her to listen to a desynchronised mess that _never made any sense_ -

“Tea?” Sakura visibly flinched at the interruption and blinked twice as she took in her surroundings, noticed the warm lights of Mei's kitchen, the drawn blinds and squeaky clean marble counter tops. The older woman looked at her, posture relaxed and facial expression nonchalant but the sharp edge in her eyes gave her away. Sakura felt naked and exposed whenever those eyes were on her. Nothing went past them. The Mizukage knew exactly that Sakura had gotten lost inside her own head. Again. It never stopped.

“Yeah,” she mumbled, raising a hand to her temples and giving them a gentle rub before turning around and leaning against the counter, facing away from Mei. Ignoring the urge to pace, Sakura gripped the edges of the counter with her hands until her knuckles turned white. She was a fucking liability. She had spent the entire day tiring herself out, her chakra well was almost completely emptied and her muscles ached. The rage didn't care. It flooded her system whenever it damn well pleased, at the slightest provocation, without prompting.

“Here.” Two fingers, nails painted a pretty blue, pushed a cup of tea over the marble, close to Sakura before lightly brushing over her skin. It hardly qualified as touch and yet she felt a small poke of chakra, cool and tranquil, seeping through and entering her system. The effect was instantaneous. And faded into nothingness a second later.

“You're blooming,” Mei stated neutrally, stance unguarded and relaxed, eyes gently resting on Sakura, no trace of their earlier edge to be found.

“Sooner than desired, though that was to be expected. You really _do_ take after him.” Sakura snarled without meaning to, hackles rising, blood pumping. Unbothered, the older woman sipped her tea and gestured for Sakura to do the same.

“It happened to me when I was nine and in the middle of my graduation exam. I killed twenty-two children that day.” That cut through the haze and Sakura's breath hitched. The Mizukage's lips were twisted into a wry smile, a curious mixture of amusement and nostalgia in her face.

“I told you that we're not so different. My clan has much better control over our instincts and they're milder. It also happens to us much sooner,” she continued, voice steady bordering on serene, exuding an almost tangible aura of tranquillity.

“He found me with my hands around a young girl's throat. She was already dead but he stopped me from turning twenty-two into twenty-three. Used his staff to bash me in the head and knock me out. When I woke up I was in the hospital and he was right there, sitting on a chair next to my bed. My father was on a mission that day. He couldn't be there for me. Yagura was.” The marble cracked and gave in under the pressure of Sakura's grip. The tension in her body threatened to tear her apart from the inside and it became hard to breathe.

“He took me to the clan's personal training area and told me to attack him. I practically threw myself against him, burned through my chakra and swung my sword until I couldn't move my arms anymore. Afterwards we went to the shore and watched the sea until the sun went down and my father returned. I think that was the day that I fell a little bit in love with him.” Sakura's breath was laboured, gasps loud and harsh against the utter silence around them, fists crushing the bits and pieces of marble to dust as her chakra roared and raged inside her, pushing against her skin just begging to be released.

“He was a good man. A patient teacher, deeply emotional though he hid it well, his love and devotion for the village eclipsing everything else. At one point I loved him more than my own father. For the longest time he was closer to me than my own clan.” Sakura flinched violently at the sudden touch and through the red that tinted her vision, saw that Mei had come closer, thumb tenderly rubbing over Sakura's cheek. She tilted her head to the side before withdrawing her hand, silently staring at the wetness that glistened and sparkled in the low light.

“I know how you feel. I know how people look at you, I hear the whispers, see the fear in their eyes. I know what it's like when they spit on his name, call him a monster and celebrate his death. I know you're angry. Furious. Hurt too, but oh. so _. angry,_ ” the woman hissed, emerald eyes three shades darker than before, features sharper, teeth bared. A single beat of her heart later, she had reverted back to being an empty canvas, void of emotion.

“I know all that because I'm angry myself,” she spoke softly, a faint whisper that reached Sakura's ears, went down down _down_ until it hit something so deeply buried inside her that she'd never noticed it before. It curled around the knot inside her chest and warmed, soothing the overwhelming pressure that threatened to swallow her whole, calmed the raging violence echoing in her mind.

“I had to strike him down Sakura, and it was the most terrible thing I've ever had to do in my entire life. And the worst part is that in the end, he let me.” Her fingers began to shake and all of a sudden, Sakura felt weak and helpless, like a marionette with cut strings. She slumped forward, strength failing her, and was caught in a warm embrace. Rough smoke and the smell of the sea mingled into a thick fragrance that entered her nose as salty tears soaked the dyed cloth of Mei's sleeve.

“He let me kill him and I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive him for that.” Sakura tried to force her mouth shut and scrambled to hold onto the last shreds of control but failed miserably. Weeks, nay, months of built-up worry and tension burst from their confines and bled all over her outside. Sakura felt lonely and lost, taut like a piece of pulled string and tired from having to ignore and push away her emotions, from slowly going crazy because she tried so very hard not go insane...

“To be honest, I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself.” Sakura cried into the woman's embrace, fingers digging into her dress and clutching the silk so hard it tore as her legs finally failed her and she sank onto the floor, supported by Mei's firm hold.

“Don't listen to them when they call him a monster. Yagura was a _good_ man. It's alright to miss him even if you never got to meet him. I know I do,” she whispered into Sakura's ear as she kneeled in front of her like a rock, unmoved by the tides.

“You... make it easier. I see a shadow of him in everything you do. You have his eyes. You frown the same way. You even share the same smirk,” Mei chuckled and reached for Sakura's head as the tears slowly subsided, two fingers tracing the curve of her left brow before tucking a single strand of hair behind her ear.

“I couldn't help him but I can help you. You just have to let me.” A gentle tap on the underside of her chin made Sakura look up, glassy jade eyes meeting sorrowful emerald ones and in that moment, she felt something between them shift and change, a thoroughly cracked and jagged piece breaking in half before reshaping itself into a different kind of broken. Less elegant, less refined. But sturdier. No longer reflective like a polished mirror, instead transparent and revealing. Sakura released a ragged breath, allowed her eyes to fall shut and tilted her head backwards until it met the counter.

“I've never cried before,” she whispered hoarsely, throat raw and dry and she didn't even know why she said the words in the first place. Maybe Sakura wanted to give in. Maybe she wanted to carve herself open for this woman, show her what hid under her skin, past flesh and muscle, blood and organs. Bare herself. To _someone_. She wasn't sure how long she could've kept going before cracking under the pressure and... snapping.

“There's a first time for everything,” Mei replied before withdrawing her arms and sitting down next to Sakura instead, legs stretched out in front of her body and crossed lazily. Sakura inhaled shakily and folded her hands in her lap, struggling with the utter emptiness of her mind. She hadn't even realised how much was cramped into her head until it was suddenly gone. There was no passive echo of her heart beat, no whispers clinging to the edges of her consciousness, no thrumming in her ears, no sparks of energy pulsing through her system. Instead, nothing. Hollow. Void.

Peaceful.

“I think I'm going insane.” Sakura heard herself snort after the admission, realising how arbitrary the comment was. Both of them were fully aware of the decline of her mental health.

“I'm angry all the time. I never get tired of it. Even if I train all day, there's always enough chakra and energy left to want to sink my hands into someone's chest and tear it apart.” The words sounded flat to her ears, empty and lifeless. How sad to think that that was an improvement.

“...I hate the ruins. I see them and I _hate_. To see... to see your compound next to it makes me so fucking angry at you. It's... not your fault. I know that. It's not really anyone's fault. But I see you and your cousins and how much this damn village worships the ground you walk on and it makes me want to kill them. I can't. I won't. But I live with this constant need and do my best to shove it down and it eats away at me. I can't direct my anger at anyone else so it stays inside my own mind and that just makes it worse.” It felt good to get that off her chest, Sakura realised. Just saying it out loud eased some of the pressure on her shoulders, having someone listen to problems she wasn't able to deal with.

“I know.” She sounded genuine, not teasing, mocking or indulgent. Sakura believed her.

“People already don't like me. I already worry them, I'm already different. I'm terrified it'll escalate once I carry Isobu. You say he'll help with the rage. But he won't help with feeling lost and alone and left behind. Different. Ostracised.” Sakura just kept talking, the ugly truths spilling from her mouth like water.

“I lived in Konoha for fifteen years and kami, it was killing me on the inside. I felt wrong and out of place. This right now? It's like history repeating itself. I finally found a home and already I'm losing it.” She startled when a soft hand curled itself around her own. Sakura looked at Mei whose eyes were locked on a painting hanging on the opposite wall depicting the ocean during a terrible storm with wild waves and a lightning strike ripping through the cloudy sky.

“Kiri is more than its people. It's the ocean, the island, the wind and the storm. It's the hardiness in our bones, the viciousness running through our veins. Kiri is the amalgamation of our clan's best traits. It's you and me,” Mei spoke, voice a low rumble, heavy with conviction and a faint hint of salt and ozone.

“The people may reject you but the sea never will. She has the final say, is the highest authority, the ultimate mistress of our lives. She alone decides who gets to live or die.” She still stared at the painting, then softened and turned her face towards Sakura. There was a small smile on her lips, humourless but full of unspoken promises.

“We descend from the first two clans who were deemed worthy of her blessing. We're her favourites,” the woman breathed with a quick wink, coaxing a small chuckle from a surprised Sakura.

“Never doubt that, Daughter of the Sea,” Mei whispered conspiratorially and Sakura gasped at the sudden spike of elation making its way from her heart to her throat, nearly suffocating her with its intensity.

“What was that?!” The Mizukage looked her up and down, then smiled. Sakura clutched her shirt as she breathed heavily, eyes wide and wild. Mei in comparison was nothing if not pleased and satisfied at whatever it was that just happened.

“Village secret, I'm afraid.” Sakura narrowed her eyes and frowned heavily but decided to drop the matter for now. The list of things that were wrong with her was already so long, one more bullet point would hardly make a difference. She closed her eyes again, still frowning when the woman beside her shifted and got off the floor.

“Come on. I have something to show you.” That piqued her interest. Sakura blinked her eyes open and took the hand that was offered to her, allowing Mei to drag her to her feet.

“It was meant to be a birthday present,” she began as she walked out of the kitchen, heels clicking against the polished wood floor with Sakura trailing after her like a ghost.

“Technically, two presents. One for your jounin promotion and one for your sixteenth birthday. Clan tradition.” Mei added with an audible smile and despite herself, Sakura's finger twitched in anticipation. She followed the older woman through the house, and up the stairs into her study. All mahogany with dark complementary blues and the occasional white accent. Except for one small box she had never seen before that rested on top of Mei's desk in between scrolls and brushes. The wood was light and pale, most likely maple or ash with intricate swirls painted in a warm grey curling almost lovingly around a large green flower covering the top. Mei walked around the desk and carefully turned the chest around, then took a step backwards and gestured towards it.

“Open it,” she said and Sakura looked from her to the box, wet her lips before advancing towards the object and tenderly placing the palms of her hands on either side of the chest. There was no lock or key hole but the second she touched the wood, she heard a faint click. Sakura watched as the grey swirls slithered away from the flower to form a single line which then sunk into the wood, cutting through the material, and separating the object into two halves.

“How does this even work?” Sakura breathed quietly, fingers running over the surface of the polished lumber before grasping the upper half and lifting it off the bottom part.

“All I know is that only the head of your clan can open it. It used to belong to Yagura. One of the very few relics I was able to extract from the compound before it was set on fire,” Mei explained and when Sakura looked up, saw that the woman had angled her body away from the desk. Releasing a shaky breath, Sakura placed the lid off to the side and gazed upon what was hidden inside the box. The inside was covered in silky cloth, dyed the deep mossy green of her clan and held a small number of items. Sakura leaned closer and sniffed the air, almost instantly overwhelmed by an incredibly strong smell reminiscent of warm summer rain and violent storms on a raging sea.

There was a hint of something else, a faint note of iron and salt, a combination Sakura was so intimately familiar with it tugged at her heart strings, filling her with a profound sense of belonging. The source of the fragrance was obvious after a single glance. She would forever deny that her hands began to tremble as she reached for the bundle of green cloth that was the exact same shade of the chest's padding but rougher, less expensive, thicker and sturdier. Instinctively Sakura's fingers buried themselves in the material as she pulled it from the chest to get a closer look. A soft breath reminded her of the other presence in the room and when Sakura turned her head, she met emerald eyes that had zeroed in on the bundle in her grasp.

“His clan trappings.” And suddenly, Sakura realised what she held in her hands. She had seen them on him in the only picture her mother had of her father. Two garments, one a scarf that had rested upon narrow shoulders and one a knee-length wrapped skirt that opened up at the front. Sakura's mind stilled, suddenly and without warning, the budding whispers receded and went back to sleep. With a somewhat jerky movement, Sakura brought the bundle closer to her face and buried her nose in the cloth, inhaling slowly. The scent, his scent, eclipsed everything else.

From one moment to another, Mei's study was gone and when Sakura blinked, she found herself standing at the shore and in the middle of a raging storm. Rain fell from the heavens, so thick and fast it was nearly impossible to see. Lightning struck the ocean, lighting up the sky accompanied by a deafening crack and rumble. The air around her warmed considerably and Sakura tilted her head upwards to stare at what was happening above her, water pelting her face and drenching her clothes.

**Sakura.**

She flinched and whirled around to try and see where the voice had come from, but found herself all alone, her only company the wet and crackling energy of a tempest.

“...kura?” She blinked and looked down at the now drenched garments, stared at them to try and understand-

“Sakura!” Her breath hitched at the sudden pressure on her shoulders and between one second and the next, her mind lurched and suddenly she was back in the study.

“You spaced out for a moment there.” Heavy-lidded emerald eyes, framed by wavy auburn strands leaned over her shoulder, silently waiting for Sakura to say something.

“Sorry. I just...,” she trailed off as her words failed her. She shook her head before dragging her gaze off the bundle and carefully, almost lovingly, placed it on the desk next to the box.

“You're entitled to wear them, if you like. You're the head of your clan. It's your right,” Mei pointed out, misinterpreting Sakura's reaction to the clothes. Which was probably a good thing, she thought, unsure how to explain that she had momentarily been trapped in some sort of vision and heard voices. Except they usually happened randomly without a specific trigger. Casting the garments one last glance, she forced herself to inspect the other items in the chest instead. One was her clan insignia, a small pendant shaped like the Karatachi flower attached to a rather simple silver chain. The petals of the bloom looked like they were cut from jade, milky and green in a shade eerily similar to Sakura's eyes while the centre was pale with only a hint of yellow. She took the necklace and placed it around her neck, ignoring the warmth that pooled in her stomach.

The last item was a scroll. Sakura unrolled the thick parchment, fingers gliding over the rough texture and after inspecting briefly realised she was faced with instructions for a jutsu.

“Suiton: Mizukagami no Jutsu,” she murmured to herself, scanning the diagram and reading the first few lines. A primarily defensive technique with possible offensive applications. The ultimate counter. That had to be at least an A-Rank jutsu, judging from the required chakra alone.

“The Water Mirror was Yagura's signature jutsu. His own creation.” Sakura rolled the scroll back up and put it back in the box, vowing to go outside and study it first thing in the morning. With her current chakra levels, the technique was not sustainable. Not that it would remain an issue for much longer.

“I'm not going to wear them. I get a lot of blood on my things,” Sakura said as she picked up the clothes and placed them next to the scroll before rejoining the two halves of the chest, watching as the wood fused back together and the grey paint once again curled around the flower.

“But...,” she trailed off, hugging the box close to her chest and snuck a quick glance at the Mizukage.

“I want my own. Not in green but... a dark teal, maybe. Like my mask. The green is probably too much of a close call,” Sakura mumbled towards the end of the sentence, not even for a moment willing to entertain the consequences of her showing up in Yagura's old clothes. What she didn't mention was that she would keep them hidden away in that box forever to preserve their feel and smell. They were a family treasure, a relic. Something of his that was now hers. Absolutely priceless, a gift that was not to be squandered.

“I'm sure that can be arranged,” Mei answered knowingly and Sakura gave a single sharp nod, lingering uncertainly. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Looked away. Clutched the box a little tighter. Then:

“Thank you,” she spoke softly, so quiet in the utter silence between them. A single finger found its way beneath her chin and tilted her head upwards until jade met emerald. The woman smiled, a tender expression that completely transformed her face and even squinted her eyes a little.

“You needed that,” she said and Sakura's shoulders slumped as she relaxed, even leaned into the touch.

“So did I,” Mei added as afterthought before giving her chin a single tap and withdrawing her fingers. She paused briefly, then winked at Sakura and placed a hand on the small of her back, turning her around and guiding her back downstairs.

“He was an exemplary dancer, you know. Endless grace that I could never match. I'll teach you, one day.”

March 28th came sooner than expected. Sakura hadn't been counting days. One morning she simply woke up, roused by the rise of the sun and realised that it was her birthday. The figure crouching on the windowsill of Mei's guest room helped with that realisation.

“Happy birthday, Sakura-chan!” Junji crowed with a large package in his hands and too damn chipper. Temper already flaring, she growled at him in a vain effort to chase him away. Predictably, it didn't work.

“I brought a present.” If that was meant to improve her spirits, the attempt missed its mark by a mile and a half.

“Go away,” Sakura grumbled and rolled over, refusing to get out of bed and acknowledging his existence. She'd have to be up and running in another hour to prepare for what was probably the most important (and fucking terrifying) day of her life. Sakura forcibly pushed those thoughts away, knowing that the time to panic had not yet come. Never would, truly. She would spent half the day meditating, then in excruciating pain as Mei along with a team of sealing specialists shoved a turtle the size of a small island through her navel straight into her belly. Years ago, birthdays had been uncomplicated affairs. Some cake, a small affordable gift and ice cream for dessert. Now it was all pesky hunter-nin, demon turtles and torture in all but name.

“I promise you'll love it,” Junji said with an audible smile, voice much closer than before. A single strand of hair tickled Sakura's cheek so when she turned over, she wasn't surprised to see his face above hers, clear grey eyes sparkling with mirth.

“If you're the present, can I return you?” she asked and ignored his mock hurt. Then she sighed. He was not going to leave. She knew it, he knew it, so she might as well humour him.

“Fine. Give it to me,” Sakura demanded as she sat up and swung her legs to the side, bare feet touching the warm carpet in front of the bed. Junji winked but wisely refrained from making an inappropriate comment in favour of placing the package in Sakura's lap. It was unexpectedly heavy, slender and long but she wasted no time guessing, instead carelessly tore at the wrapping which revealed an object reminiscent of a display case without the glass. The material was sleek, shiny and solid. Polished wood. Cherry tree, judging from the reddish hue. Very funny. But... also a nice sentiment. Probably. Sakura wasn't sure what to think of that so she stopped.

Her fingers traced the two flowers that were carved into the wood, a sakura blossom next to her clan flower and connected through their intertwined stems in a genuinely artful manner. Even if the case was empty inside which she honestly doubted, it was a nice present. Sakura didn't waste much time hoarding material possessions but this was personalised. It was about the same length of her katana too so she could use it as a sword case-

“...you didn't,” she murmured faintly in horror, eyes transfixed on the case thus missing the curl of Junji's lips.

“And if I did?” he asked innocently and Sakura reached for the latch, opening the case. And stared.

“No,” was all she said even if she found herself unable to look away or close the case again, protesting despite being utterly fascinated.

“This cost a fortune. I'm not accepting this,” Sakura declared and didn't notice how her hands already went for the object neatly nestled in swathes of deep teal – he'd been talking to Mei – silk.

“Well bully for you because I'm not taking it back,” Junji answered softly as he tucked an errant strand of hair behind Sakura's ear none of which she consciously noticed, too taken by the sight in front of her. No. She wasn't one for material possessions. But this-

Sakura's breath caught as her fingers glided over the handle of the most beautiful katana she had ever seen in her entire life. The blade was long and pristine, a little thinner than customary just for Sakura who prioritised speed over strength, agility over impact which Junji _knew_ because she had off-handedly mentioned it months ago and kami, the thought that must've gone into this...

The quality of the steel was obvious. There were no imperfections in the gleaming metal and this very specific shade of silver was unique to the highest grade steel available which was usually reserved for ceremonial weapons and only used in custom orders if the buyer could afford it. It was nigh impossible to dent, famous for never breaking unless subjected to incredible amounts of pressure and it was chakra conductive. It was the kind of metal for legends like Junji. In comparison, Sakura was barely worth a mention.

“I think you like it too much to refuse it,” Junji murmured and oh damn him, he was right. Sakura traced the almost invisible flower-themed filigree that was etched into the steel close to the handle, marvelling at the level of detail. The handle itself was wrapped in the green of the Karatachi, rough and patterned for optimal handling with little fanfare or cheesy designs cut into the cloth. From the sheer quality of the steel to the little flowery touch all the way to the pure elegance with which the katana was put together, it was a priceless gift that went above and beyond what Sakura would've expected. She forced her eyes away from the blade to look at Junji instead and was momentarily taken aback by the sheer tenderness in his pale grey orbs.

“I can't take this,” she tried one last time, serious and insisting but then Junji smiled and she knew she had lost a battle she never really honestly fought. Sakura gripped the handle of the katana and carefully lifted it from the case, admiring the weight of the sword. Just heavy enough to comfortably rest in her hand but light enough to allow for quick strikes and wide sweeps without tearing half her muscle after prolonged use. She'd always had that issue. Testing the balance, Sakura found it utterly perfect and then, finally, gave it a practice swing. The blade cut the air with a sharp swishing sound, leaving behind nothing but a soft clangour akin to the tolling of bells.

“You're unconsciously infusing the metal with chakra but forgot to give it a shape. I'll teach you how to do it properly,” Junji spoke up from behind her, reminding her of his presence.

“You don't have to do that,” Sakura replied, alluding to much more than just the offered lessons.

“I know,” the hunter-nin said lightly before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leaning against her.

“But I want to.” Sakura sighed as she turned around, placing the katana back into the case with all the care in the world and closing the latch with an audible click.

“Now, get dressed and go downstairs. I want to know what Mizukage-sama got her precious little Karatachi-chan.” Junji gave a little wave, then made for the door but Sakura's hand shot out and latched onto his forearm, gripping the limb tightly. She glanced to the side, avoiding his eyes and wrestled with herself for a moment before swallowing the lump in her throat.

“You can braid my hair. Any time you like.” It was the closest thing to a 'thank you' she managed since simple gratitude would in no way come even close to acknowledging the worth of his gift.

“Just... not today. Mei told me to wear my hair loose. For the sealing,” Sakura added and looked up when she felt his hand cover her own for a moment, give it a squeeze, followed by a nod of his head. Then proceeded to ruin the moment.

“Mei, is it? Do I have to worry about her competing for your affection?” Junji asked with raised brows, prompting Sakura to frown and bare her teeth in a silent snarl. Things were back to normal again, the spell broken and in many ways she felt better for it. More comfortable. And eternally grateful that he had given her an out, not that she would ever admit to it.

“She'd succeed too simply for knowing when to keep her mouth shut,” Sakura growled and blatantly lied. But he didn't need to know that. Except he did, if the doubt on his face was anything to go by but at least it got him out of the room with a small wave and faint curl of his lips. Sakura allowed herself a moment to sigh and rub her hands over her eyes before placing the cherry wood case on a cupboard next to the bed and getting dressed.

Simple clothes, Mei had said. For the sealing itself she'd have to undress anyway and the time frame between Sakura's meditation and the procedure itself should be as limited as possible. A simple blue shirt and old sweatpants she never actually wore were a solid choice so she got dressed quickly, forced a brush through her hair and followed Junji. The man in question was waiting for her in the living room, perched on the back of a chair because apparently he couldn't just sit down like a normal person. He also seemed very interested in a delicately wrapped square box that sat on the dining table with a small written note attached to it. Mei was conspicuously absent.

“You have about half an hour left before you need to head to the sealing grounds,” Junji supplied helpfully and Sakura clenched her fists to try and ignore the flutter of anxiety that ate away at her heart. She couldn't believe that she reached a point where she wished for the rage instead. She approached the table and picked up the note first, reading then discarding it.

'I have to leave early in order to oversee the preparations and do some of my own. Your gift might not be much of a surprise yet I expect you will enjoy it nevertheless. It will pair quite nicely with Junji's horrendously overpriced choice.'

Sakura snorted. Mei had a point. Horrendously overpriced just about cut it.

“I just want you to know that our venerable Mizukage is a hypocrite and we should all judge her very harshly for it,” Junji spoke loftily from his perch, nose slightly upturned and expression very serious. Uncharacteristically, so. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him as she reached for the package, removed the wrapping, lifted the lid... and froze.

She'd thought Junji's gift was overdone and wholly unnecessary. Well. Somehow, this was worse.

“I assume they're the same?” Sakura asked and Junji nodded. Well. That was... a lot. It was a lot. Sakura blinked slowly, then released a shuddering breath and swallowed once.

“She _is_ a hypocrite,” Sakura settled on saying, quietly and carefully for she didn't trust her voice not to fail her. Not that anyone would've had the right to judge her for it. Not when, in a case made from cherry wood and nestled in a bundle of dark teal cloth, rested two identical twin tanto with exactly the same design as the katana she'd received from Junji.

“You two are literally the worst.” There was nothing else to say, not really and Sakura hated to wonder about how much fucking money they'd spent on her. In all fairness, blades like these were a once in a lifetime investment but an investment _one was supposed to make themselves_. The pure, unadulterated extravagance of these presents went beyond anything she'd ever expected.

“You needed weapons worthy of a clan head and the local blacksmith needed business. You're good for the economy, Sakura-chan,” Junji spoke with a wink and Sakura hated him a little bit. Finally he left his perch and came to a stand next to her, gesturing towards the box.

“Speaking of clan heads, there's something else in there. To go along with the blades.” Still kind of dazed, Sakura removed the tanto from the case and carefully placed them on the table before once again focusing on the box. That was when she noticed the lack of shininess in the teal cloth. Tugging at the material, Sakura realised that it wasn't actually fastened to the wood and not part of the cushioning. A sense of foreboding flooded her mind only to be validated the second she pulled the bundle from the box to inspect it closer. It turned out to be exactly what she thought it was. With bated breath, she rubbed the material with her fingertips, followed the thick waves of cloth as they wrapped and weaved around each other to the single-coloured stitching shaped like a flower that was hidden away on the inside of the collar, only for Sakura to see. A deep, muted teal. Just like she'd asked.

“You should break those in after the sealing, hm? We'll have a nice spar, you and I, so we can test out your blades and you learn how to move in those,” Junji murmured into her ear, so much closer than before. Shivers raced down her spine but for a fact, Sakura knew that he wasn't the cause. Something deep inside her cracked and uncurled with a low growl and set her skin on fire as she stared down at her own personal set of clan trappings. She didn't know what it was, but it laughed and was undeniably and irrevocably _pleased_.

“Good luck.” Those were Junji's parting words as he abandoned her at the edge of the invisible barrier around the sealing grounds. He grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it, calm and collected. How very unlike Sakura herself. He vanished with a faint whoosh to join his fellow ANBU guarding and patrolling the perimeter. For everyone involved this was the single most sensitive operation in recent history. For everyone that was not Karatachi Sakura, this meant heavy guard rotations and a noticeable decrease of ANBU presence in the village itself.

The hidden cove located on the other end of the island on the other hand, was crawling with masked nin. If something were to go wrong on this day, at this time, it could very well mean the end of Kirigakure no Sato. For everyone that _was_ Karatachi Sakura, all it meant was that she'd either successfully become the jailer of a demon or die trying. With all her mind, Sakura tried to calm her mind by endlessly repeating the names of all former successful jinchuuriki-that-had-not-died. It didn't help as much as she'd hoped. Sakura arrived at the cove soon enough (too soon) and was promptly ushered inside by two shinobi covered from head to toe in ink.

The light inside the cavern was practically non-existent. A small number of candles was scattered throughout the interior, casting a dim glow on the crowd of people tirelessly drawing lines of the damp floor, some wielding brushes dipped in ink, others carrying tiny bowls that smelled like iron. In the centre of it all was Mei herself, absolutely stark naked with every inch of skin covered in a different runic array and allowing a medic-nin to extract some of her blood which was then handed to a sealing master and used in the creation of the containment seal. Her impossibly long hair obstructed some of her bare curves but Sakura found herself looking for the fraction of a second nevertheless. At least until the woman looked up and sent a small smile towards her, beckoning her closer with a few curled fingers.

“Leave your clothes on that rock over there, next to mine. I'll draw your seals while you meditate,” Mei called out and Sakura found herself going through the motions of undressing with jerky, mechanical movements. Nudity didn't bother her per se but it didn't exactly help with the situation at large. All of the tension and nervousness she felt had to be meditated away before they could begin the actual ceremony to minimise the chances of anything going awry.

“As you know, I will be acting as the conduit between the seal master and yourself. You are familiar with my chakra and my presence and your body will more easily comply with the foreign intrusion if it has my touch all over it. It's similar for the sanbi. The turtle has been through this whole thing countless times and somewhere along the way started harmonising with the Terumi chakra nature,” Mei spoke as Sakura sat down on the ground, cross-legged with her back to the auburn-haired female. She allowed her to gather up her hair, twirl it into a loose ponytail, then pin it to the back of her head with a wooden comb.

“Exactly forty years ago, it was my father in my place and your grandfather in yours. It's almost enough to make one nostalgic,” she mused quietly as her touch lingered on Sakura's hair for a few moments until it disappeared. Soon after, Sakura fought the urge to twitch when cold ink was applied to her bare skin, drawing patterns and runes on her back.

“You'll be just fine, Sakura-chan. You'll see.” It was easy to get lost in her thoughts after that. While initially odd and distracting, the brush moving over her skin soon became vaguely comforting, an almost pleasant sensation that helped lull Sakura. Combined with Mei's proximity and the feel of her chakra so close to her own, she was able to fall into a trance without further prompting.

The cavern of her mindscape was the same as always. Dark, damp, empty. Drop by drop, she fell into the lake and let the ripples carry her pieces across the surface. The faint ambient hum was missing which was highly unusual yet perhaps not at all surprising. The ripples she caused were numerous and strong, upsetting the lake and causing some of the water to slosh over the stony ridge that contained the pool. Bit by bit, Sakura let go of her physical shell, stopped thinking about the need to breathe, prevented her brain from telling her heart to beat, quit expecting the feel of arms or legs. She left behind all images of Mei, Junji, her parents, even Ao. Instead, she recalled any and all aspects of Isobu.

She concentrated on the feel of his chakra, the force of nature he represented, recalled the exact yellow shade of his eye, immersed herself in memories of his presence. He was stability, steadfastness, solid and unyielding as rock, deep and calm like the darkest depths of the sea. He was everything and she was nothing. The ripples slowed, the surface evened. She still dripped from the ceiling but no longer upset the balance.

 **Sakura**.

The surface rippled violently, then suddenly stilled and in a flash, fused together and smoothed out until it was completely flat. A shimmer of light covered the lake and when it faded, the water was gone, replaced by a giant rounded mirror.

**I've been waiting to speak to you for what feels like an eternity.**

Sakura forced herself to calm and still instead of breaking into a panic at the sudden voice in her head. She was used to voices. But not during meditation. _Never_ during meditation. The voice lacked any defining qualities or even a visible source but it felt familiar. Deep, low and gentle. It wasn't kind but so few things in Sakura's life were. In many ways, it reminded her of something she couldn't grasp, something she had forgotten long ago.

**You can't remember me. It's not ideal but I predicted this specific outcome.**

The mirror glowed, then revealed an image of a young Sakura with short hair, dull eyes and sitting in the last row of an academy classroom in Konoha. Behind her was a vaguely human-shaped shadow, both of its hands resting on Sakura's shoulders.

**I wish I had gotten to meet you in person.**

The voice sounded mournful, just an echo of emotion but in the emptiness of the cavern, even echoes could be loud enough.

**Do not falter, Sakura. I will watch over you.**

It was a promise, Sakura felt as much in her bones with such intensity that the water beneath the mirror surface vibrated so strongly the glass fissured.

**You will never be alone again.**

The mirror shattered.

Sakura came to herself not with a gasp but a whimper. She opened her eyes and found herself laying flat on her back, bare skin on cold wet stone and staring at the ceiling so far above her.

“You came back just in time. The ritual's about to begin.” Mei's voice came from somewhere behind her and Sakura craned her neck to catch a glimpse of her auburn hair, long wavy strands framing her face, for once not covering most of it. They had moved her, she realised. She was now at the centre of the sealing array, fingertips dipped in blood from where they had been placed to connect her to the lines.

“You will hurt. You will scream. Your entire world will be on fire,” Mei explained with clinical detachment, the kind of tone she used when she assumed her professional facade to completely focus on the task in front of her.

“I will activate the paralysis once we start. I will be right beside you, from start to finish. Are you ready?” The question was simple courtesy. Even if she said no, they would go through with it anyway. So Sakura nodded. She heard hushed whispers she didn't listen to as Mei made last second adjustments to Sakura's pose to ensure her body was lined up perfectly in the circle. Candles were lit, others extinguished as six other people arranged themselves around the array, sitting down cross-legged as if they were going to meditate. Their eyes closed as their hands began to glow with chakra and Sakura felt Mei's hands on either side of her head, turning it so she stared at the ceiling as the older woman went to her knees and shuffled closer until she brushed against the back of Sakura's skull.

The hands on her head remained, fingertips gently pressing into selective chakra points until she felt the hum of the woman's chakra resonating with her own. All around her, six male voices stated they were ready and not a moment later, Sakura felt her body freeze up. Forcibly swallowing the budding panic, she closed her eyes and focused on regulating her breathing.

“Firing up the seals in three... two... one.” With a sudden snap, the world was filled with energy. The thrum of the chakra almost deafened Sakura and she itched to pull her hands close to her body to get away from the sheer electricity at her fingertips. The entire cavern was doused in a ghostly light, a dark and unsettling shade of mint that gave the ceiling the illusion of glittering like countless small diamonds.

“Open the pathway to the host.” With almost surgical precision, Sakura felt Mei's chakra enter her system and mingle with her own, taking a straight path to her navel where the containment seal was located, infusing the array with energy and opening up the gate for the sanbi. If she could, this was the moment where Sakura would get up and run away. Pure instinct screamed at her to do everything in her power to get away for what was about to follow was so wrong, bordering on unholy, a crime against nature herself. She began to sweat as her body tensed, all of her earlier meditative calm vanished without a trace.

“Prepare to receive the sanbi.”

And suddenly, as prophesised, her world was on fire.

A strong chakra signature rapidly approached the barrier and Junji was the closest operative in the vicinity. Quickly and silently like a shadow, he raced along the invisible line, then took a sharp turn to meet the source of the disturbance head-on. Weapons at the ready and in no mood to play, he placed his feet square on the ground and waited until the intruder showed themselves. The first thing he saw was a square of light blue cloth peaking out from behind a rock formation. Said cloth quickly turned into an entire robe with dark hem and an orange sash to complete the mismatched ensemble. Junji didn't relax even as his eyes roved over the pale exposed chest and the short brown strands covering one side of the person's face.

“Why are you here?” he demanded brusquely, fully aware that one thing and one thing only could have led to his sudden appearance after years of absence.

“Are you creating another monster?” the man asked instead of answering, causing Junji to growl and ready his weapons at the insult.

“If that's all you came to ask, then leave.” He felt rather than heard the three new arrivals and took one step towards the blue-robed male. With reinforcements he could afford to go on the offensive, perfectly willing to take on this particular creature.

“Step aside, Yuki. I came to talk to the Mizukage,” the man said with narrowed eyes, hands casually resting at his sides but Junji felt the spike of his chakra.

“She's busy. Come back later,” he brushed the male off, eager to end this standoff. If everything had gone according to plan they would be halfway through the procedure by now and Junji fully intended to be there when Sakura woke up.

“You misunderstand. I came to talk to the Mizukage about rejoining the village.” Junji halted and squinted his eyes, doubting whether his ears had failed him or not. The other man seemed dead serious.

“Well in that case, pick a rock and take a seat. We'll be here for a while, Utakata.”

_'Wake, child.'_

Pain was the first thing on her mind. A fire burned in her veins, acid ate through her pathways and her throat was raw and torn from screaming. She struggled to remember where she was, _who_ she was and tried to move but her body failed her.

_'I shall have words with whoever presided over your sealing. Something clearly has gone wrong.'_

It was a struggle but eventually she managed to open her eyes only to instantly force them shut again. The bright, searing light had almost blinded her. Bit by bit, sensation returned to her limbs and she curled her fingertips, gasping at the intense spike of pain that raced through her body. Biting her teeth and pushing through the pain, she rolled on her stomach and struggled to her knees. Her heart beat so strong it was nigh unbearable and she had issues getting enough air for her lungs. Breathing itself was already hard enough. There was a pressure on her skin, pushing down on her and robbing her off the air she so desperately needed.

_'In the unlikely case that the change in environment was your doing, revert it immediately. If I have to spend the rest of your life in your cell I expect it to be at least pleasing to the eye.'_

Some of the pressure receded and she sucked in the air, then pushed herself off the ground with her hands and allowed herself a moment of rest to let her heartbeat settle. Experimentally, she wiggled her fingers and moved her arms. The pain still accompanied the motion but it was no longer as intense. She raised her hands to her face and rubbed her forehead, then grabbed her hair and pushed it out of her sight.

Then she opened her eyes. The cavern was gone. Her bare toes were buried in sand and she found herself staring at the gigantic three-tailed beast that was halfway submerged in a stormy, untamed sea. Waves crashed against its carapace and rain assaulted his singular opened eye. A thunderclap, harsh gusts of wind and the roiling of the ocean blended together into an ear-shattering cacophony, drowning out any and all sound except for his voice which came from the depths of her own mind. None of that worried her.

What worried her was high up in the sky, shining brighter than the moon, dousing her entire mindscape into a truly nightmarish glow. She squinted her eyes and covered them with a hand for good measure but nothing could protect her from the blazing magenta sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to @lunavinne who is so damn enthusiastic about my story and really warms my heart with their comments. It makes me so happy to see which parts people like the most.  
> Also, @Whyhow who alerted me to the fact that I have no idea how to be grammatically correct about dialogue and also pointed out the odd logical fallacy. Thanks for helping out! :)  
> And last but not least, @AwesomeGirl because your comment made me feel better about thinking of delaying updates to focus on doing other fun stuff... like playing Kingdom Hearts 2.5 on the hardest difficulty and dying for a few hours straight. 
> 
> My life is a riot.


	6. Act I: Part VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura wakes up. Utakata is bitter. They meet and it doesn't go well to absolutely nobody's surprise. Actually, a lot of things don't go well. At least Sakura makes progress and discovers a new emotion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the nice comments I received!  
> @GAreader: Sorry to keep you hanging but there will be plenty of fighting scenes in the next chapter :)  
> @Banoffee: To be honest I hadn't even planned on it in the beginning :D But I'm glad it makes sense.  
> @YummmHotPocket: Well to be fair, she had months to get used to the idea of being a jinchuuriki while sun was something she dreamed of which suddenly became part of her reality. This chapter has some more interactions between Sakura and Isobu though.  
> @I_should_be_doing_something_else: I'm glad you like my characterisation of already existing characters. Personally, I'm having the time of my life. If I didn't have an actual plot waiting for me I'd probably get lost in that :D
> 
> Brief rant inc:  
> Ngl I'm kind of unhappy with how weak jinchuuriki-that-are-not-Naruto are in canon. No longer. Dividing them by power is just a lazy excuse to make Naruto superior because he's the main character. Instead, I like to think of them being divided by function. For example Shukaku, despite his attitude gives Gaara his ultimate defence. In general, his skillset is suited for protective techniques making Shukaku the aspect of protection. Kurama is the opposite so he's the aspect of destruction. Isobu would be control while Saiken would probably be harmony considering how in tune and willing she (not canon, my own interpretation) is with Utakata. In my opinion it makes more sense if different aspects come together to fuse into the ultimate (complete) biju rather than just combining their power. But that's just me. It's not really necessary for the story just my explanation as to why Utakata (and later Sakura) would be perfectly able to beat the shit out of Naruto. He may have more raw offense but will never be able to work with Kurama as well as the other two with their respective biju.
> 
> Rant over. Enjoy the chapter! :)

Breathe in. Breathe out. Wait. Repeat.

Around her, the world changed. The sea calmed gradually, towering waves crashing against each other without rising up again. Rough winds slowly but steadily came to a standstill as the sand beneath her body shifted and fused together, bit by bit turning into solid stone.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Wait. Repeat.

The taste of salt on her tongue faded until it was replaced by a calm, minty note, something fresh and light, void of the crackling energy of the storm. In barely noticeable increments, the temperature cooled, taking the last shreds of an almost suffocating warmth with it.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Wait. Repeat.

Walls rose all around her, the rock she sat on expanding in all directions, then curving and climbing towards the sky. Light dimmed, remnants of the storm crashed against smooth damp stone, most of the ocean disappeared into the ground leaving behind nothing more than a medium sized pool.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Wait. Repeat.

As the cavern rose higher, eventually it curved inwards, steadily creeping towards itself. With every second that passed her surroundings turned darker and cut off more and more of the unsettling magenta glow that shone upon her until only singular rays made it through the cracks in the ceiling.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Wait. Repeat-

With the roar of a waterfall, the construct collapsed into itself. Walls crumbled and were swept away by the once again violent tides, stone returned to dust, the air became thick and heavy. She smelled salt and rain and opened her eyes only to find herself right where she had started.

“Fucking hell,” Sakura muttered and raised a hand to her forehead in an effort to chase away the pressure building behind her eyes. There was no strength left in her body so she let herself fall backwards into the sand, entire being enveloped in a faint pink luminescence. She didn't know for how long she'd been at this but it felt like entirely too much.

' _You seem to struggle with the final steps_.' As if she didn't know that. Biting her tongue to keep herself from snapping at the massive turtle that rested in the water just a few feet in front of her. There was no point arguing against herself, after all. For better or worse he was part of her now. Whatever annoyance she felt, he was bound to feel just as intensely.

“It's the sun,” she said while opening her left eye to squint at the large celestial body. It was much bigger than any sun she had ever seen, close enough to burn her alive were it real. Instead of heat, it gave off an acute sense of barely restrained power and gazing upon it, Sakura was torn. It was like her being was split in two. One part wanted to get even closer, the other longed to run away.

“It's too... much. I can't lock it out. It won't let me.” Her choice of words was very deliberate. She was fully aware that the sun was nothing but a placeholder, a piece of symbolism for something she couldn't grasp let alone understand. Something sentient. It had its own will and that was the only reason she couldn't cage it. It was stronger than her.

' _You have to. Otherwise it will keep you here forever. Do you wish to be caged inside your own mind forever?_ ' Of course she didn't want that. With all her might she ignored a very familiar kind of panic welling up within her. There was no passing of time in this place. What felt like hours could be days. What felt like weeks could be seconds. Sakura dreaded to wake up and find herself on a funeral pyre just moments away from having her ashes scattered across the sea simply because they'd assumed her mind had broken from the strain of the sealing.

' _It's a curious being, that sun of yours. Try as I might I may not crack it open to peek inside. In all my years as captive to your family I've never seen anything quite like it._ ' Words that inspired confidence, she thought with a roll of her eyes and made no move to get up and try again. She'd been at this for... well, a while. Isobu hadn't left her much time to get used to his sudden permanence. The difference was palpable. They had shared her mindspace before, many times during her meditations to build a necessary bond that served as prerequisite for the level of cooperation that was customary between a Karatachi and the sanbi. His presence had been tangible even then, just a fraction of his entire being in hindsight. He was everything and everywhere. There was no cage holding him, no lock and key, only a strong shimmering barrier around the border of their shared realm. He could move freely within it and his power was perfectly capable of leaking through the barrier if he so wished. When Sakura breathed, so did Isobu. He was used to it. She was not. He had given her no chance to fret over it.

“I dreamt of it before. More than once. It's always there, high up in the sky and watching over me.” The storm drowned out her words but it didn't matter since the turtle was privy to her every thought anyway. In here, there was nothing she could hide from him. With a small amount of amusement, Sakura mused that he was much like Mei in that regard. Once their eyes rested upon her, there was nothing she could hide.

' _I see,_ ' Isobu rumbled, the strong undercurrent of realisation forcing Sakura to open her eyes and peer at him with a blank expression.

' _It brings you comfort and no small measure of it. You cannot will it away because you do not wish to remove it in the first place._ ' That made sense and really shouldn't have come as a surprise. Sakura had gotten used to the sun long ago. It was there in both dreams and nightmares, a true constant in her world of uncertainty.

“It burns so bright it almost makes me uncomfortable yet... it reminds me of him. His eyes were the same colour. I think that's why I like it so much,” Sakura murmured. The connection was one she hadn't made before but it seemed obvious now. For someone she'd never met she had placed him on a pedestal with alarming ease. He'd started out as an example of what could happen if she let herself slip. A true worst case scenario. Perhaps she was throwing all caution in the wind, Sakura thought, but she had always been good at that. She wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case.

' _Try again. This time, don't attempt to force it outside the walls. Instead, try to reduce it in size, compress it into a small ball and move that inside the cavern._ ' She was in no mood to argue, so Sakura wordlessly complied and assumed a seated position once more. Concentrating on her breathing, she let the tension in her body ebb away and reached for the strings that made up her mindscape. With an ease that came with familiarity, she tugged at the threads, dissolved some, unravelled others and from the remains, weaved an entirely new pattern. The sea calmed. Sand turned to stone. Wind faded, salt was replaced by mint, an entirely ocean reformed into a pool of endless depths. Sakura reached for the sun and ignored how the touch scorched her fingers, coaxed it into following her lead, accepting her will and changing shape. Walls ascended, light dimmed, shadows appeared in dark corners and clung to little crooks and nannies. She moved and the sun moved with her, attached itself to the ceiling, brimming with life and warmth. Sakura released her breath one last time and opened her eyes. The cavern held. The strings were strong. Jade met yellow, blood turned to water and Sakura felt herself falling.

She fell and fell and fell and then, fifteen days, four hours and twenty-nine minutes later, she woke up.

The headache came first. The burning ache in her bones second. Raging confusion last. When Sakura opened her eyes, they were met with darkness. Taking a tentative breath, she winced at the sudden spike of pain in her lungs. Her entire body was tingling and felt oddly numb. Sakura didn't want to know just how much pain she'd be in if half her nerves weren't fried to hell and back. The air around her was fresh and salty, the ground beneath her hard and cold. She tried to turn her head to get a better view of her surroundings but found she was unable to move.

' _Do not panic. I sense my sibling nearby. She will loosen your restraints once it's clear that the sealing was successful._ ' Hearing his voice from the depths of her mind even outside of meditation was... an experience. He sounded clearer and closer. None of the distance that used to be between them remained. Sakura had been preparing for this for a long time and yet she still didn't quite feel ready for it.

“S... sib...ling?” Kami, it was hard to speak. Her throat felt like it was on fire and every ounce of energy had been sucked out of her body. Like she was a fruit and someone had squeezed her too hard. Sakura was fairly sure she wasn't bleeding but leaking all over the ground nevertheless. Why had they restrained her? Clearly she was in no condition to do anything. Even a tailed beast needed a body to work with.

' _My power will be restored soon. You will be weak until I can heal you. And do not worry about her. She's one of my more pleasant siblings which nearly makes up for the surliness of her captor._ ' If that didn't sound promising, Sakura didn't know what did. She had no further opportunity to ponder the issue as her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a massive, if tightly controlled, ball of chakra that entered her awareness. Her sudden sensory ability confused her for the fraction of a second until she remembered that Isobu had already known that one of his siblings was near. Apparently she shared his natural radar for other tailed beasts if he made her aware of them which was definitely interesting but failed to answer the more pressing question. To Sakura's knowledge, the was the only jinchuuriki in Kiri (and wow, was it different to hear it coming from her own mind like that). According to Mei, the rokubi had left the village during Chigiri and never returned. But who knew what had happened during the time she spent unconscious, trying to fix whatever had gone wrong with her mindscape.

“You're not dead.” Did he actually sound disappointed? Sakura couldn't look at the person standing behind her but his voice gave him away as a 'he'. It might have even sounded pleasant to her ears if it weren't for the fact that it was dripping with disdain.

“No... shit...,” Sakura ground out in between breaths and felt like collapsing from the strain. Surly, he had said. What a joke.

“The turtle must have completely exhausted himself to keep you alive if you slept for over two weeks.” Now that she had a number she almost wished she could forget it again. Two whole weeks?! She had spent this long being unconscious? How did she not starve or dehydrate or even freeze to death? Nevermind that, they had kept her in this damp place for two whole weeks? Oh Sakura was going to have words with Mei the second she regained the ability to talk normally again!

“Re...move that... damn... paralysis,” Sakura demanded, hating how feeble her voice sounded and itching to get up and moving, anything to stop being this helpless.

“After I verify the integrity of the containment seal. Personally, I don't see the point if they let you wander free anyway. Your kind has done more damage to this village than any biju.” Sakura clenched her jaw so hard it hurt as she bit down on the words threatening to spill from her mouth.

' _I haven't come across him for years yet it seems like time hasn't softened his grudge. Quite the opposite, actually._ ' Sakura's ears picked up the soft patter of bare feet on damp stone before she could see the silhouette of a tall and slender male entering her field of vision. It was too dark to make out anything beyond his general shape and clothing. It make her wonder whether his eyes burned hot or cold as she felt the weight of his stare on her naked shivering form.

“How developed is your link to the sanbi?” The man crouched down in front of her and poked her navel with two fingers as if inspecting the skin around it. A foreign rush of chakra burst from where he was touching her and if the paralysis tag didn't keep her body still she would've lashed out.

“I see.” Sakura didn't see and clenched her teeth. Nervous energy coursed through her system, settling in her fingertips which itched to wrap themselves around the man's wrists and apply pressure until they snapped. She wanted, needed, to jump to her feet, do something. Anything. Being restrained and at someone else's mercy was unbearable.

' _So jumpy and erratic. Your mind is a mess. You should have been sealed years ago._ ' Sakura wanted to yell at the turtle because none of that was exactly her fault _now was it_ but all thoughts were cut off at the unexpected removal of the paralysis. Without a warning, from one moment to the next, all feeling in her body returned. Sakura gasped like a fish on water as her fingers seized up, her legs kicked out and she tried to remember how to move her limbs. Then, the pain hit her full force. Operating on pure instinct, she bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood in an effort to keep the scream from bursting out of her throat.

“Get dressed and go outside. You have to fight me before you're allowed back into the village.” His words didn't make it through to her at first. Sakura arched her back, the back of her head grinding against smooth rock, hands fisting her hair all in an effort to cope with the acidic chakra searing her from the inside. Moisture gathered in her eyes, then ran down her cheeks as she bit her lip bloody and raw, unable to control her actions.

' _Persevere. Breathe. Once my chakra settles, the pain will stop._ ” It didn't stop for a long time. By the time it did, Sakura felt worn out and even getting to her feet was a whole ordeal. She swayed and stumbled twice before her hands met cloth. Getting dressed took much longer than it should have, the simple shirt and loose pants ones she didn't recognise. Sakura sniffed the garments once, frowning at the distinct lack of smell. Isobu was suspiciously silent as she made her way through the cave, hands gliding along wet walls and feet scraping against an uneven ground. Either her vision had taken a hit or the lack of light was entirely unnatural. Either way, Sakura groaned once she rounded a corner and was instantly assaulted by bright white light that spilled into the cave through a wide opening.

' _Light is energy and this cave is designed to consume energy in large quantities. A true masterwork of the sealing arts._ ' She didn't ask him how he knew that. The sanbi had to have seen the insides of that hole in the wall plenty of times. Sakura blinked a few times as she leaned against the rock, using it as support while her vision adjusted. Gulls cried out above her, waves crashed against the cliff side and a strong wind whipped her hair around her head. It was a bright day, warm and sunny and Sakura wondered where exactly she was. She had been wrong earlier. This was not the cove where she had been sealed and the weather alone suggested that she was no longer on the main island. It made sense, she supposed, to keep her far away from civilisation just in case she woke up and felt like snacking on a bunch of civilians.

' _I am not Shukaku,_ ' Isobu sniffed and Sakura snorted quietly at the sound of a miffed demon turtle. She released a shaky breath as waves of tranquil energy burst free from the centre of her body before trickling into every fiber of her being. The weather was nice. Nothing for eternity, she loved the misty rain and cloudy days of Kiri too much but for a short while? She could put up with it just fine.

“Quit loitering. I wish to get off this island.” And there was the downside. Sakura turned her head and finally got a good look at the male who had woken her up, who according to Isobu, was the jinchuuriki of the rokubi. Objectively speaking, he was attractive, she supposed. He held the same kind of beauty Junji was so adored for. Pretty rather than handsome with silky hair, lean and wiry muscle, expressive eyes. Sakura couldn't help scrunch up her nose at his unfortunate choice of clothes and wondered if walking around bare-chested was something of a tradition among disproportionately fair men. Not that it really mattered. His sour attitude ruined the overall image.

“I won't stop you,” Sakura replied before arching her back, then falling into a number of stretches. Her whole body was stiff. She was not looking forward to waking up with the mother of all soreness tomorrow. But at least she _would_ be waking up which was nice. The man sneered at her, then turned his nose up in the air and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Unfortunately babysitting you is part of the agreement between the Mizukage and I.” Suddenly fighting him seemed like much more attractive of an idea and Sakura was keenly aware of the sparks of foreign chakra leaking from her navel into her pathways. He seemed to have noticed it too if the sudden tension in his limbs was anything to go by.

“Is Mei alright?” she asked instead. Sakura only remembered bits and pieces from the ritual. Most of it was a blur in her memory, isolated fragments that even pieced together didn't make much sense. But she did remember the hands on her head, the feel of her chakra – running hot and cold at the same time, a perfectly contradictory nature that was so unique to the woman – and wondered what the ritual had taken out of her.

“She may have adopted you as her very own pet Karatachi but that's still Mizukage-sama to you.” Sakura's chakra exploded. Before she could even think of doing it, she had already launched herself at the man, hands on either side of her body and brimming with Isobu's acidic energy. She took a swipe at the man's head who dodged it with ease. He was agile and quick, always one step ahead of Sakura who roared and hissed, tried to claw at him like an animal, making liberal use of the suddenly nigh endless supply of chakra. She burned through her own reserves with alarming ease as she spit water needles, summoned waves, pushed herself to her limits. Her anger was deep and wild, like a force of nature that had finally been unchained. It didn't occur to her in that moment that Isobu could have shut her down within in an instant if he so wished. Instead he let her tire herself out until her body was thoroughly exhausted and only kept upright by his own chakra.

Sakura couldn't remember if she had ever felt this alive before. The power running through her veins was intoxicating. Isobu was barely present inside her mind, nothing more than a subtle presence floating on the edges of her awareness, there to centre and focus her, pointing her in the direction of the other jinchuuriki. She was the weapon and he was the trigger. Sakura used jutsu after jutsu, for the first time in her life able to go through her entire arsenal without running out of chakra. The man didn't fight back so Sakura pushed harder, hands blurry as she formed seals and watched in utter satisfaction as the summoned water dragon crashed into a rock just inches away from smashing the male into the cliff side.

She had narrowly missed him but his eyes had widened ever so slightly and Sakura felt like a shark that had caught the scent of blood. She bared her teeth, squinting at him as she went low into a crouch, ready to go for the kill. Red bled into her vision, creating a storm inside her mind that just begged to be unleashed. A flare of chakra distracted her momentarily until she realised that it had come from her belly, a clear warning sign. Sakura clenched her fists and shook her head, not ready or willing to let go of this budding euphoria. Another flare, stronger than the last. Sakura ignored it and charged at the man. With every punch she threw, every kick at her target's head, every bite aimed at his neck, she worked herself deeper into the swirling pool of violence and lust for blood, willingly submerging herself in those dark waters, not once concerned about drowning. Once she caught the mixture of unease, wariness and pure unadulterated fury on the man's face, it was over and she let go.

Sakura got as far as drawing first blood, a shallow slice on his cheek before her pathways were flooded with acid and she went down with a cry of anguish. Suddenly, Isobu was everywhere, pressing down on her mind and shutting down the flow of chakra sustaining her body with power. Her knees gave in and she slumped over, falling face first into the sand, unable to move.

“At least he has you leashed.” The man sounded just a little bit out of breath and Sakura snarled at him with her last remains of energy, followed by a low growl rumbling in her throat.

“Jichuuriki exist to bind biju and prevent them from bringing destruction upon the world,” he continued, closer now that she was forcibly restrained by the sanbi and in no condition to attack him anymore.

“It's a testament to the abomination you are that we need a biju to control you.” Oh how she wanted to beat the grudge out of him, caring little for how that might only reinforce his opinions on her family. Sakura wrestled with the sanbi but his hold on her was like steel, unyielding and nigh indestructible. He did allow her to roll over however, just in time to see the utter disdain in the man's eyes before he turned away from her.

“I trust you can find your way back to Kirigakure on your own. The Mizukage will be notified that the seal works as intended,” he said before walking away and leaving her behind.

“Fuck you!” Sakura yelled after him, wholly unsatisfied with the outcome of the situation but scrambling for the little victories she could get. If she had to continue dealing with that asshole on a regular basis she would riot.

' _His name is Utakata,_ ' Isobu supplied and Sakura ignored the urge to snap at the turtle. He was... just doing his job, she supposed and exhaled loudly in frustration. She'd be of no use to anybody if she lost her shit in the village. The entire purpose of sealing her had after all been to saddle her with the only biju willing and able to control her bloodlust. He got to see the world and use his chakra while she got a failsafe and a minder. It was a necessary partnership. She couldn't blame the sanbi for fulfilling his obligations.

“Well, he's an asshole,” Sakura answered with a frown. The turtle chose not to answer probably because he agreed.

' _He was close to Yagura. His loss of control hit him very hard._ ' Ah. So the grudge was _personal_. Fucking fantastic. But what was one more enemy, right? Surely, compared to the village's inevitable shunning of her, he couldn't be much worse. And if she told herself that often enough, perhaps it might even come true.

The plan had been to sneak into the Terumi compound, take a shower and change into her own clothes before going to see Mei. Sakura made it roughly five steps past the blue walls before being intercepted by a blur of grey and black.

“No. I'm in a mood.” Being straightforward usually helped. Not this time. Junji hummed, then fell into step with her, escorting her through the compound in the direction of Mei's home. Part of her should be touched, Sakura thought, that he had come to see her the moment she had stepped into his sensory range. He had always kept an eye on her, sometimes even two. She still felt like smashing someone's face with her fist and Sakura didn't necessarily want it to be Junji.

“He has that effect on people, yes,” the hunter-nin mused pensively, causing Sakura's body to tense for a second before another, this time much more subtle, warning spiked in her stomach.

“I fucking get it, I'm not going to go on a rampage every three damn seconds!” she hissed, head bowed as she stared down at her belly. Isobu didn't deign to answer her which was a good decision.

“Ah. You two get along well,” Junji quipped and Sakura heard a snarl slip past her lips. Kami, she had to get these instincts under control. Her temper was already threatening to boil over. If she didn't get some much needed downtime she was going to explode sooner rather than later.

“I want a mission,” she said.

'I need something to kill,' was the truth behind her words.

“Mizukage-sama wishes to talk to you. You had her quite worried when you didn't wake up after the first seven days.” That got through to her and Sakura tried to ignore the barely noticeable twinge in her chest. She had worried herself too but in hindsight, the sanbi had chosen well. He had kept her asleep and under for the duration of the recovery process even if his motivations were partially selfish. If Sakura hadn't fixed her mindscape who knew what consequences that decision would've brought. In either case, the turtle was much happier in the cavern and a happy tenant made for a cooperative tenant.

' _You say these words like it's not you who's being extraordinarily difficult most of the time._ ' She decided not to answer. Entering Mei's house came with a fleeting sense of familiarity and surprisingly enough, home. Her time spent in the compound didn't amount to more than three months but it had been... nice. Living with her parents was an impersonal experience, always had been ever since they moved to Kiri. Her mother, while aware of her legacy, had never followed it and the traits of their clan never manifested in her blood. She had been raised Kiri by her single mother, married a Kiri civilian before fleeing Mizu no Kuni and emigrating to Konoha. Sakura, from day one, had fully immersed herself in their culture after showing clan traits for most of her life. Their paths had split, Sakura belonged to the village and her clan while Mebuki had returned home and tried having the family she always wanted. Last time they talked, she'd informed her of her pregnancy. Sakura wasn't the only one who fervently hoped that unborn Kagura wouldn't follow in her footsteps.

“Yeah. Okay. I'll go see her once I'm clean and wearing my own clothes.” Junji nodded, seemingly pleased and followed Sakura up the stairs to her old room. She'd probably have to move out and back to her family soon. Maybe it was time to get an apartment. Sakura paused briefly, then shook her head and went into the bathroom with a fresh set of garments, happy to leave Junji to his own devices. She'd have to talk to ask him about the jounin apartment complex later. As far as she knew that was where he lived. They might even end up as neighbours. Sakura undressed, stepped under the hot spray of water and realised that there were worse things than living next door to Junji-senpai. Kami help her, the menace was growing on her.

Sakura was done showering in record time, glad to be rid of the sweat and grime that had stuck to her like a second skin and quickly got dressed. Once she had climbed into her dark pants and put on a tight, equally dark grey turtleneck, her gaze got stuck on the other pieces she had brought with her. Mei had given them to her two weeks ago and Sakura hadn't been able to wear them until now. Reverently, she reached for the teal scarf, brushed her fingers over the soft yet sturdy material before pulling it over her head and adjusting the way it rested upon her shoulders. Sakura smiled upon seeing the stitched flower and folded the scarf just so that it was hidden from view.

It took a solid minute of confusion and ignoring Isobu's faint echoes of amusement until she had figured out how to wrap and fasten the skirt. Taking one look in the mirror, Sakura's breath caught. It looked so... _right_. There was no other way to put it. The colours matched up nicely, the garments were obviously custom fitted and combined with her coffee coloured boots, she appeared like the proud Karatachi she was.

Junji was gone by the time she exited the bathroom so Sakura saw no reason to linger, quickly strapped on her new blades – shaking her head in disbelief as she realised that she had not dreamed them up – and twisted her hair into a simple bun, held in place by a polished wooden comb Mei had at some point left behind in her room. Not as practical as her usual braid but it would do. With new resolve, Sakura jumped through a window and took to the roofs. Later, she would realise that there was a sort of invisible barrier around the Terumi compound. Nothing tangible, certainly nothing that actually existed. If it did, Sakura imagined it would've looked like a thin golden line. Something thin, easy to overlook. A piece of string, maybe. In that very moment, Sakura crossed it without noticing. But there was no way to hide the consequences.

The sudden change in atmosphere slapped her in the face with such force, she nearly slipped off a roof and only barely caught herself in time. The air around her was heavy and oppressive, charged with energy as she felt her hackles rise and adrenaline surging through her veins. Alarmed and confused, Sakura reached for her tanto, crossed them in front of her body and waited. Nothing happened. There was no movement around her, no surging of chakra, nothing at all to indicate an unexpected attack.

' _Calm yourself. There is no ambush,_ ' Isobu rumbled and projected his calm onto her, only marginally influencing her to the point where she slowly dropped out of her combat stance. Sakura righted herself, hands still tightly gripping her swords and proceeded to closely inspect her surroundings.

' _It's hostility_.' That was when she saw them. Masks, countless masks that usually went about their business in broad daylight were now hiding in the shadows, clinging to walls, crouching low on top of buildings. And all of them watched her every move. This intense dread she felt, a foreboding sense of doom that made her draw her weapons in an effort to fight off incoming hostiles, was nothing but sheer combined killing intent.

“Fuck,” Sakura breathed, only barely catching herself before she could place a hand on her chest to rub the spot over her heart. That was what they wanted. Like sharks they circled around her, just itching for a sign of blood. Weakness. She refused to just hand it to them on a silver platter.

' _They look at you but see someone else in your place. It's not you they hate. Take comfort in that, if you can._ '

“And then what, accept that I'm being hunted in my own village by my own people?” she asked quietly, then in a great show of reluctance, sheathed her tanto and resumed her journey, hyper aware of every single pair of eyes following her.

' _It won't last forever. Bide your time, prove yourself. Even if all else fails, your Terumi will shield you._ ' Isobu sounded a lot more confident than she felt. Sakura had once worried about finding herself in a situation similar to her life in Konoha. Being regarded as an outsider and shunned seemed like such a stupid fear in hindsight. She'd take isolation over undisguised hatred any day. Realistically Sakura knew that Mei had done a lot for her – more than anyone else. But even her graciousness had its limits. She didn't want to find out what it took for the woman to meet them.

' _How little you truly understand,_ ' Isobu drawled, making Sakura frown as she traversed the roofs of the village, cutting a straight path to the Mizukage's building. Best not to expose herself more than strictly needed.

' _She's tied to you, tangled up in your castle of wires with no hope of ever escaping. Wherever you go, she will have no choice but to follow. If you get dragged down, she will claw her way back to the top. In many ways, she is fiercer than you are and you should be grateful for it_ ,' the sanbi spoke, making no sense whatsoever to Sakura. They were close, that was true. Maybe even something like friends. Nothing even remotely similar to what Isobu was describing. Then again, he was an ancient being that had lived through countless generations of Karatachi, met just as many Terumi. Perhaps all he meant was that Mei and Sakura got along better than some of the past partnerships. He gave no further input which was just as well. The Mizukage building was right in front of her and without knocking, Sakura entered through the window. Several things happened at the same time.

Ao was in between her and Mei, faster than Sakura could blink, arms crossed and ready to defend his kage with his life. Two nondescript masks were on either side of her, one with a blade right at her throat, the other holding a long senbon to her gut. Junji appeared in a cloud of smoke, one sword aimed at either of the masks and from the corner of her eye, Sakura spotted Utakata standing in a corner, looking as hostile as the last time she'd seem him.

“Seriously?” Sakura asked when nobody moved or raised their voice for a solid minute. The stalemate only ended once Mei spoke up.

“Sakura?” The girl startled, utterly taken aback by the weak and feeble tone, the lack of strength that usually accompanied her whenever she spoke nowhere to be found.

“What the hell?” she breathed quietly and turned her head, trying to look past Ao's broad frame to see what the hell had happened to that woman.

“Stand down, Ao... she's fine,” the Mizukage continued, so quietly that Sakura had to strain her ears to understand her. Ao wavered briefly, then moved aside. And Sakura almost wished he hadn't.

Mei looked like a corpse. Her skin was pale enough to show the blue of her veins, her eyes dull and sunken into her skull with wrists so thin they looked ready to snap. Auburn hair lost much of its former shine and hung limply down a frame so brittle it bordered on malnourished. When she smiled at Sakura, it was fragile and wavering as if the simple action took too much strength to properly uphold it.

“I'm glad you woke up,” Mei said, valiantly trying to straighten her upper body but ultimately falling back into a disturbingly uncharacteristic slouch. Sakura blinked with wide eyes, fingers itching to reach out. She stopped herself upon realising that the woman looked like any touch, no matter how gentle, would cause her to shatter.

“Why the fuck is she not in the hospital?” Sakura bit out, taking solace in what was familiar in an effort to ignore how fucking unsettling the sight in front of her truly was. She hated it, hated it so much that she couldn't stand looking at her for one more second and thus, averted her gaze to glare at Ao.

“She was released this morning under strict instructions not to overwork herself. She's doing better than she looks, Sakura-chan.” Junji tried to calm her down that much was obvious but his efforts were doomed to fail in the face of Sakura's budding fury.

“Really? Because to me it looks like she's five steps away from fucking dead!” She should control herself. She knew better. Isobu was silent and Sakura let herself go.

“You only have yourself to blame for that,” the asshole sniped from his corner and she snapped. With a growl she was about to jump towards him when Junji suddenly appeared behind her, two hands gently resting on her shoulders.

“If the circus can't calm down, I'll throw all of you out of the building,” Ao threatened with an undercurrent of ferocity that just dared Sakura to try and cross him.

“All of you are dismissed. Sakura stays behind,” Mei interjected before anyone could draw their weapon and incite an all-out brawl in her office. Her statement was met with protest: Displeased silence in Utakata's case, outright refusal in Ao's case. Neither of them were heard by the Mizukage whose chakra began to flicker, then crumble with a pained hiss. Sakura recoiled, unable to hide the sheer disgust which quickly turned into shame, then anger. The woman had noticed and let out a single sigh, then slumped over her desk with only one arm holding her upper body upright.

“Sit,” she commanded and Sakura obeyed after an awkward pause. Unsure where to look, she bit her lip and stared at her hands, eyes burning with poorly disguised wrath.

“It's not permanent. The sealing took a lot out of everyone involved. The others are faring much worse than I, especially the master of the ceremony who died from chakra exhaustion. They always do,” Mei explained, a mere whisper of her usual strength returning to her voice. Sakura balled her hands to fists as she silently seethed in rage.

“If you knew what was going to happen why didn't you tell me?”, she demanded shakily, still refusing to gaze upon the pitiful state of her Terumi.

“I wasn't aware the death of a stranger would impact you so much,” Mei retorted, prompting a chakra spike from Sakura who briefly closed her eyes to beat down her agitation.

“It doesn't. You should've just told me. I'm the reason you're in this state.” Sakura carefully controlled her breathing and allowed the cool threads of Isobu's chakra to curl around her mind to soothe her emotions.

“You feel guilty.” The pure surprise that swung in her voice, accompanied by a note of awe finally forced Sakura to look up with slightly widened eyes. She still seemed beyond tired but more than that, in this very moment, like something entirely unexpected had happened. Sakura blinked twice, then averted her gaze in discomfort.

“You said you acted as conduit to make it easier for me. I'm just saying that maybe you shouldn't have.” She shrugged and buried her fingers in the cloth of her skirt.

“There's a reason biju are sealed in children. You're too old, too developed to have a chance at being sealed without complications. It's a simple matter of levelling the playing field.” Nothing about this was simple but Sakura couldn't voice that thought when she didn't even know what exactly bothered her so much.

“I guess now I know why ANBU stare at me like I murdered our kage. It's because I came damn close to doing so,” she offered instead as she deflated and sunk into the chair in front of Mei's desk like an empty sack of rice.

“There's that. On top of your clothes. They suit you by the way. Teal was an inspired choice,” the older woman replied lightly and Sakura felt the ghost of a smile creep on her face. They both knew perfectly well who had worked out the finer details of the clan trappings and it sure as hell hadn't been Sakura.

“Now. Tell me why you took two weeks to wake up. The sanbi should have healed the damages within a few days.” Dutifully, Sakura reported on the events that had occurred during her state of unconsciousness, leaving out the sun in its entirety, instead explaining that her mindscape had changed and thus created problems for Isobu. Then, she told her about waking up and attacking Utakata _who had a major attitude problem by the way_. That bit at least, didn't seem news to Mei who got that expression of a budding headache the second Sakura spoke the jinchuuriki's name.

“He deserted from the village years ago and had many years in isolation to nurse his grudge. It's not just you he doesn't get along with though you're certainly his least favourite. He never got over the bad blood between himself and Yagura. According to him, he only returned to report on unusual movements in the West. Why he intends to stay, I couldn't figure out yet. He seems earnest enough. And he can teach you how to make the most of your partnership with the sanbi.” Yeah because that was going to go well. Mei already senses Sakura's incoming protest and silenced her with a single glare.

“Personal problems aside, he's a talented shinobi and naturally gifted in working with the rokubi. There's a lot you can learn from him.” And that was that, apparently. Sakura leaned back and glowered at the unfazed woman in front of her, took in the lines in her face and the way her arms wavered at the slightest movement and decided not to argue.

She really should have. The first day of training with Utakata was, as expected, a nightmare. He didn't waste a single opportunity to knock her down both figuratively and literally. If Sakura didn't have Isobu's regenerative properties she would have died at least ten times already. That man did not pull his punches and he hit harder than Junji which was a miracle and a half. Sakura didn't complain much and poured her energy into feeding her anger instead. It really helped. Learning through pain was Kiri's number one trusted teaching method and no matter how much Utakata looked down on his birthplace he still adhered to its traditions. Damn hypocrite.

Soem part of Sakura had hoped they would find common ground, no matter how little but even after three weeks of pain, violence and nigh irresponsible levels of chakra waste they had come no closer to being even remotely civil around one another. Utakata would be hostile and provoke her into falling into a frenzy, forcing Isobu to shut her down time and time again. He would push her until she slipped into the first stage of biju mode and glowed a bright minty green, then effortlessly followed suit and flung her across the dead expanse of Yumishima.

The cycle kept repeating until one day, completely by accident, Sakura figured out how to intentionally flip the switch. Utakata had not expected that. For the first time since they begun training, she got the drop on him and threw him so hard he smashed through half a cliffside, creating a lovely little hideaway for the few animals that could sustain themselves on the island of ghosts. Her small victory lasted for roughly ten seconds before Utakata flew out of the cave, chakra wrapped around him like a shell, six partially formed tails attached to his backside. Isobu worked himself close to chakra exhaustion to make sure neither of them died. Mei was furious but Utakata claimed to have calculated the intensity of his attack to not cause permanent damages. Sakura didn't believe him. Three days later she followed him back to Yumishima anyway.

Weeks went by and Sakura grew stronger. With every day that passed, her control over Isobu improved as did the turtle's influence on her. She wouldn't go as far to claim that she was stable but... better. Casual explosions of her temper decreased and if they did occur, the sanbi was able to interfere before she could inflict serious harm on those around her. For all her progress, the watchful masks didn't stop following her wherever she went and Sakura's growing unease prevented her from actively trying to move out of the Terumi compound. She raised the issue with Mei just once, who merely told her that there was plenty of room in her estate so she might as well move in properly. Sakura didn't protest and moved the few remaining belongings she had left with her parents over to the compound.

Her mother would start showing her pregnancy soon and Sakura figured that alone would cause her enough trouble. She didn't have to make it worse by openly associating with her parents. It stung briefly. Then Mei entered the kitchen, made some tea and Sakura took in the colour that gradually returned to the woman's face, the way she once again began to fill out her clothes as well as the emerald shine that lit up her eyes and decided that there were more important things to worry about.

Like Utakata. _Fucking_ Utakata. The more time they spent around each other, the more Sakura became convinced that his prettiness was his only redeeming quality. Being sixteen years of age she was very well able to judge the physical attributes of those around her even if it felt more like a passing fancy than deliberate action. She was too busy training, recovering and holding onto her continued mental well-being to focus much on other people despite the fact that she was surrounded by disproportionately attractive human beings.

Junji, when he wasn't preoccupied with running various missions the exact nature of which Sakura wasn't privy to (she had eavesdropped on Mei one late evening but not gotten any information beyond his clandestine assignments being tied to Utakata's reports on trouble brewing in the West) drew looks wherever he went. Half of that was rooted in his reputation, the other half women of all ages and some men staring at his naked chest, pretty silvery eyes and silky hair. He had a nice smirk which he wielded like a weapon and the general attitude of someone who was fully aware of how beautiful they were. In fact, it was nearly impossible not to notice him for as long as he wanted you to.

Then there was Mei. Who was just as bad as Junji when it came to flaunting her physical attributes. Sakura didn't have much of an opinion on who she found attractive beyond the elementary knowledge that those two simply _were_. She had caught herself looking at either on a few isolated occasions and tried to understand what exactly it was that made them so interesting. Sakura's first theory had revolved around their personalities which were surprisingly complementary to hers in two wildly different ways. Then she had noticed paying the same kind of inquisitive attention to Utakata and proceeded to immediately scrap that idea.

Perhaps, Sakura thought as she dodged a swipe from Utakata's partially transformed chakra claws before punching through a soap bubble that was meant to cut off her air supply, it really was nothing more complicated than basic attraction. It might have been a novel concept for her personally but an integral part of growing up as her mother had told her when Sakura approached her with questions regarding the topic. Plenty of people, shinobi and civilians alike shared her opinions on Mei and Junji, even Utakata. So it was nothing to worry about. They were acceptable targets for anyone's appreciation.

Well. Except Utakata. Who was still an asshole.

“I have a mission for you,” Mei said and Sakura wondered if this was what falling in love felt like. After too much time (four months, one week and two days not that she had kept count) her dry spell was finally over. Fighting Utakata to a near death was great for anger management or rather, managing her thirst for violence, but nowhere near the pure thrill that was real combat with sharp blades, teeth and kill counts. Sakura had first asked for a mission two months ago but the rokubi's container kept insisting she was a general hazard to those around her and should under no circumstances be unleashed on the world. Unfortunately for Sakura, his assessment was just professional enough to be accepted by Mei. Until now. He was still in the office with them, making a valiant effort to try and convince the Mizukage that Sakura was not ready but lost that round. To her great pleasure. Fuck that guy and his shitty opinions.

“You are to locate and if possible, retrieve a chuunin team that has gone missing during an escort mission in Fire. I have already contacted the Hokage who offered a team of trackers to work with you. It's an ANBU assignment and the reason I want Sakura to go is because it's the ideal test run,” Mei explained with a single look at Utakata.

“Shade will be your team's leader while Tatsumi-kun here is your last resort just in case you run into unexpected trouble.” Sakura glanced at the third male in the room, vaguely recognising him as one of Mei's cousins. She had seen him around the compound once or twice which explained Mei's familiarity with him. They shared the same vibrant auburn hair and the general shape of their face but that was where the similarities ended. While Mei was tall, he was shorter than both her and Sakura with brown eyes that suited his naturally tanned complexion.

“Myself not included, the clan's blood runs the strongest in his veins. I don't expect any difficulties but as someone who specialises in ranged combat he's a natural addition to your close combat proclivities.” So he was meant to be her minder. Sakura could live with that if it got her out of the village.

“You'll leave immediately. Your taichou will brief you on the details.” Sakura lingered just long enough to receive a reassuring nod from Mei while ignoring Utakata glowering from his corner. Sakura, who had taken to spending most of her time in the village in full uniform, required little preparation. None, as it turned out because Junji had already retrieved her mask from the compound along with her virgin set of priceless swords.

“We have a bit of a situation on our hands,” were his opening words after handing Sakura her gear and watching her gear up for the mission.

“Lately, someone has been sabotaging a number of our operations. Teams get ambushed by unknown assailants when running missions in Fire. The Mizukage hasn't broached the subject with the Hokage yet and won't until we conducted our own investigation. This is the first time that a cell has gone outright missing.” So that was what he had been doing, Sakura realised after fastening her mask to her face and giving a single nod to signal her readiness. They headed out at once with Junji giving his explanation on the way.

“We're using the Konoha trackers to find our chuunin. Depending on their condition we will either escort them back to the village or split from the Konoha nin to independently pursue the attackers. Keep interactions to a minimum. For all we know, the Hokage could be behind this. It's unlikely but not impossible.” Sakura frowned heavily. The mere idea that someone was targeting specifically Kiri shinobi didn't sit well with her and the possibility of Konoha being responsible just made it worse. She had spent the majority of her life in that place and found it hard to imagine the soft-hearted Leaf nin violating the terms of their alliance by going on strike missions. It just wasn't their _style_. Sure, they committed atrocities... Sakura had executed countless civilians and foreign shinobi during her Konoha ANBU days but never once taken up arms against those from allied villages. Those missions just didn't exist. Sakura was convinced that if they did, she would've been sent on them. It had been her speciality after all.

“I can see you frowning from here,” Junji murmured as they sped towards the shore in a rough triangle formation. Sakura summarised her thoughts on the matter and got a considering hum in return.

“I suppose you would be something of an expert on Konoha procedures. Still. They never trusted you enough to keep you close. Who knows what else they were hiding from you?” He had a point there. Despite her mostly classified record and status as active ANBU, the Hokage had been easily convinced to hand Sakura over to Kiri. At the time she had thought her clan name had been the reason. Maybe there had been more to that decision after all.

The journey to the mainland went by relatively quick and painless. With Isobu's chakra reserves, Sakura hadn't even needed a break. They still stopped for an hour once they reached the shores of Hills country to have a quick bite and rest their feet before traversing the annoyingly bumpy forests. Sakura had to pause briefly to take her allergy shot and grumble about the inconvenience of flowers that bloomed literally all year round much to the amusement of Junji. When they arrived at the designated rendezvous spot, there was no sign of the Konoha team which was fair considering they were a few hours early.

Sakura found refuge in the shadows of a Hashirama tree and slightly tilted her mask upwards to breathe the air. Tatsumi-san perched on a branch on the other side of the small clearing, partially relaxed without letting his guard down. Considering what tended to happen to Kiri shinobi in Hi no Kuni it was probably a good idea. Without getting complacent but trusting in Isobu to alert her if anything was coming at them, Sakura allowed herself to slouch and soak up the tranquillity of the forest surrounding her. It was no shore but it would do in a pinch.

The cavern looked exactly like the last time she'd been there. Sakura liked to meditate often even though it wasn't strictly necessary anymore. Ever since her reconstruction of her mindscape, the natural green hue had been replaced by a magenta that had taken some time getting used to. The sun itself was warm and mostly calm, still fixed to the ceiling and thankfully no longer as blinding as before.

' _You would do well to remember your lessons. I feel like open confrontation will be inevitable and it would not do for you to lose yourself in front of those Leaf shinobi. Kurama would never let me hear the end of it._ ' Sakura rolled her eyes as she bathed in the glow of the sun and let herself drift in the cool water.

' _That aside, I have little faith in the abilities of that makeshift Terumi you're with._ ' Had Isobu always been this cranky? Sakura could've sworn he had been much more amiable before being sealed within her.

' _Your moods bleed through the shell around your mind. Once you attain greater levels of calm, so will I._ ' It sounded plausible enough so Sakura accepted his words and took the opportunity to centre herself. She couldn't afford to mess up now that she was finally allowed on a mission. If she performed well, chances were Mei would clear her for future assignments. Maybe even assign her to a proper ANBU cell. They number of people willing to work with her had most likely shrunk to new lows but she refused to become part of the regular jounin corps. She had simply gotten too used to her mask and loathed being parted with it. Her thoughts turned to Junji who had served as taichou on an unusually high amount of ANBU operations so perhaps if she was lucky she could convince Mei to partner them permanently. She didn't hate the prospect of that as much as she thought she would.

' _Wake up. Your reinforcements arrived._ ' Sakura blinked, then reached for her chakra flow and interrupted it for the fraction of a second. It was no pleasant method to instantly leave her meditative trance but worked well enough in a pinch. Shaking her head to rid herself of an already waning sense of disorientation, Sakura adjusted her mask and got to her feet. She couldn't see the allied shinobi yet but Junji had already assumed his position in front of her while Tatsumi had shunshined to her left.

A few moments passed in which nobody moved, then Sakura heard them just shortly before they broke through the tree line. They were a group of three and the sight of them roused foggy memories. Two males, one female whose clan heritage was obvious due to the pale white of her eyes. One of the boys had red clan markings and a dog which translated into Inuzuka in Sakura's mind. She couldn't pinpoint the second boy's heritage from his nondescript clothing and thick sunglasses. All three of them seemed to be around her age and Sakura felt like she should recognise them.

“Eh? The Hokage didn't tell us they were ANBU,” the Inuzuka spoke with slight confusion and briefly rubbed the back of his neck.

“Because it is irrelevant. Greetings, shinobi from Kirigakure. We are Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata, a chuunin tracker team from Konohagakure who will assists you in your retrieveal mission.” The names were what finally sparked her memory. Many years ago, they had been her classmates. They had even taken the chuunin exams together. Sakura had never been interested in any of her year mates and lost all connection to them once she joined ANBU.

“Pleased to meet you,” the Hyuuga added quietly with a barely noticeable bow of her head. Images of a blushing, stuttering little girl flashed in front of her eyes and Sakura instinctively crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Ah. Are you ready to head out?” Junji asked, skipping their introduction and following protocol.

“Yeah. We're good to go,” the Inuzuka replied and took the leader position in his group's formation. His dog sniffed the air briefly, then gave a sharp bark and craned his neck to exchange a glance with his owner.

“That way,” he said and Sakura followed Junji's lead as they arranged themselves behind the Konoha trio. As she turned, her waist-length braid swung around her, prompting a sharp tilt of the Aburame's head. He chose to stay silent. The Hyuuga didn't.

“It's... nice to see you again, Haruno-san,” she spoke with a small smile as Sakura froze at the mention of a name she hadn't heard in a long time.

“It's Karatachi,” she replied sharper than needed and entirely on instinct. The Inuzuka visibly bristled at her tone while the Hyuuga herself ducked her head in embarrassment. Sakura sighed. This sudden need for diplomacy was going to ruin her mission. At the back of her mind, she could hear Isobu chuckling at her discomfort. Well. At least the turtle was happy. Silver linings and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realised that the last two chapters especially were really relationship/character development heavy. There is an overarching plot that takes a while to pick up but there's a few hints here and there. I put Slow Burn in the tags but am unsure if the summary maybe misled some people regarding the pacing of the story. If that's the case, I apologise but Sakura's development as well as that of the people around her and the relationships are just as important to the story as the plot is. When I started this I had the plot planned but as I kept fleshing it out, the entire subplot I mentioned earlier kept on growing to the point where I now have basically two main story lines running side by side. I am not upset about that because I became really invested. Again, if anyone is bothered/disappointed by that, I am sorry. I am super excited about every person that enjoys my story but in the end, just like many authors that don't fill prompts, I write this primarily for myself.
> 
> I hope you understand and continue to enjoy my story. :)


	7. Act I: Part VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diplomacy and the return of shark man. Hinata thinks about the past as she runs for her life and Inner is more than just a voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was stuck on this chapter for ages, Christ this one gave me a headache. I finally found my mojo halfway through even though this is shorter than the last few updates. Sorry about that but you'll realise why I chose to end it like that.

'Positive.' Sakura glowered at Junji but any hopes of misunderstanding him evaporated into nothingness when he repeated the signs.

'Fire. Kage. Report. Positive.' Without making use of ANBU code, Sakura showed him the universal gesture for 'fuck off'. Their silent conversation went unnoticed by the foreign chuunin in front of them. Not that it would have made a difference. Kiri code was vastly different from Konoha code and the only sign language they had been taught was standard chuunin.

'Source unclear. Take point for positive.' He was not going to drop it. And unfortunately for Sakura, she could see where he was coming from. Their ninja were disappearing in Fire country. The Hokage had lent reinforcements when asked for assistance. No one wanted to be the first to point fingers and if word that the Kiri ANBU had been rude and standoff-ish made it back to Konoha, it would look like someone was holding a grudge. Kami help her, Sakura loathed politics. So she gave a sharp nod when Junji glanced at her and waited for an opportunity. Said opportunity presented itself four hours after the start of their journey when she noticed the Hyuuga slowing down. It was subtle at first until she nearly missed a step and only Sakura's quick intervention kept her from stumbling and possibly breaking her neck.

“S... sorry,” the girl mumbled and one critical look told Sakura all she needed to know. Activated byakugan, flushed skin, short breath. A few steps away from chakra exhaustion.

“Let's take a break,” she said, voice muffled through the mask and carefully placed the Hyuuga on the ground next to a tree. The girl in question blushed even harder and bashfully averted her eyes which Sakura took with a grain of salt. Her memories of her classmates, scattered to the point of nonexistence as they were, had reminded her that such behaviour was typical and entirely expected. The Inuzuka and the Aburame settled down around the Hyuuga, one offering a small canteen of water while the dog curled up against the girl, gently licking her hand. That display of camaraderie was almost adorable. Sakura was glad she had ended up in Kiri instead.

'Taichou north, Red south. Flower guard,' Junji signalled and Sakura accepted the orders with a small nod which was quickly echoed by Tatsumi-san. The two spread out while Sakura positioned herself with her back to a nearby tree that allowed her to quickly spot anyone or anything that approached the chuunin from behind. If they got injured during this mission, the political fallout could very well turn into a literal nightmare. Right now was her best bet to make a positive impression which sounded good in theory but came with one minor problem. Never before in her life had Sakura actually made a good first impression. At least not intentionally and Kiri training didn't cover diplomacy for anyone not specialising in it. People skills had never been her strong point, a flaw that was only enhanced by her perpetual anger management issues. Which was a very polite way to describe her innate tendency to murder everyone who looked at her the wrong way. Or the right way. When the mood struck, Sakura didn't exactly waste time discriminating.

“How is Konoha?” It was the best she could do honestly even if it meant having to feign interest in a village she didn't truly care about. With her mask on it was difficult to see who she was looking at but Sakura focused on the Hyuuga more than the other two. Despite her crippling anxiety she was probably the easiest to talk to. The Aburame was stilted and not much of a talker while her brief rudeness during their initial encounter had made her suspicious in the eyes of the Inuzuka.

“It's... nice. Everyone from our year made chuunin. Um... there's a festival soon?” Good to know that she wasn't the only one who felt awkward in this conversation but Sakura had to commend the Hyuuga for making an effort.

“Did _you_ make chuunin?” the Inuzuka asked brusquely and Sakura ignored her first response which was a sneer and a condescending 'what do you think?'. Instead she nodded and said:

“Jounin. A few months ago.” The Hyuuga blushed further while the Inuzuka grudgingly accepted her words without starting an argument. He used to be loud and abrasive. Apparently age had mellowed his attitude.

“Oh, con- congratulations. Neji, my... cousin, he was promoted to jounin too. At fifteen like you.” There was a split second in which Sakura wanted to demand how the Hyuuga knew how old she had been when she remembered that they used to be in the same class. Unsure how to respond to that, she settled on another nod, ignoring the urge to cross her arms in front of her chest.

“So like... did you desert or something? I only remember Naruto saying something about how you're not part of the village anymore but that was ages ago,” the Inuzuka spoke up, apparently more curious than annoyed even though he was squinting at her. Subtlety, thy name is not Inuzuka.

“I am Kiri by birth. During her state visit, Mizukage-sama identified me as the heir of one of Kirigakure's founding clans. The Hokage ended up agreeing to a transfer. I did not desert,” Sakura explained as neutrally as possible, taking great care not to show any of the displeasure she felt towards the subject. Hatake and by extension the Hokage, had known that Sakura was Kiri for a long time before she ever met Mei. They had never bothered to contact her. Which they, by all rights, should have done.

“Y- you're a clan heir too? I... always thought you were civilian,” the Hyuuga commented and Sakura closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, then centred herself. She was here to play nice. Not to lose her temper over a common misconception.

“Clan head, actually. I took the position on my sixteenth birthday.” No need to mention that everyone else save for her mother and unborn brother were dead. Sakura held no illusions that Konoha would add whatever information she shared to her record. Shinobi that deserted or transferred to other villages were always inspected with a magnifying glass.

“Karatachi, right? I- remember the name but I can't recall-”

“The Yondaime Mizukage. Karatachi Yagura. My grandfather,” Sakura interrupted the girl, the nigh constant stuttering grating on her nerves. What kind of shinobi was so self conscious that they developed an actual stutter? Konoha and Kiri sure did breed their ninja differently.

“A- ah. That's nice,” the Hyuuga murmured with downcast eyes. Sakura felt like tearing her hair out but refrained from doing so in the interest of playing nice. Someone better make that up to her later.

“There is no need to force yourself to make conversation. Why? It is obvious you would prefer to remain silent and we will not take offence.” Sakura's body tensed for a second before she blinked at the Aburame, feeling thoroughly called out. She had to give him that. He was much more observant than she had expected.

“Much appreciated,” Sakura replied drily, still somewhat baffled before finally crossing her arms in front of her chest and slouching against the tree. She had done her job, if slightly unsatisfactory. What little she had given away would be reported to the Hokage and imply some measure of casual exchange. No matter how forced. She trusted the chuunin to chalk it up to her just being antisocial in general. The Konoha team started talking amongst themselves and Sakura was happy to let them. Their mismatched group had made decent progress despite having to slow down for the chuunin. According to the Inuzuka the trail was getting stronger and soon they would be in optimal range for the byakugan. The chakra loss as result from continued usage of the doujutsu at this time was inconvenient. Nothing they couldn't work around but still... Sakura hoped Junji would make the call to ditch them once they were close enough so they could hit the objective quickly and without the uncertainly of being backed by foreign shinobi. As if the mere thought had summoned him, Junji appeared in a cloud of mist, crouched on a branch to Sakura's left.

'Report,' he signed and she nodded once, then twisted her fingers into the standard sign for 'ok'.

'Attempt at positive. Moderate success. Sufficient.' Which was more than anyone could have hoped for. Sakura's hunch that the Hyuuga was the easiest to talk to had validated itself and their brief conversation established a neutral mood between the two parties. Junji tilted his head to the side much like a curious cat and she got the distinct impression that he was smiling behind his mask.

'North quiet. Eyes status?' Sakura glanced at the Hyuuga whose breath had calmed. The blush dusting her cheeks had receded but her face was still scrunched up as if she was dealing with a nasty headache.

'Poor.' Sakura paused briefly, then continued signing:

'Abandon, commence hunt?' Junji shook his head and Sakura sighed in resignation. It had been worth a try.

'P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S,' the hunter-nin spelled out, bringing her temper one step closer to exploding. She was about to form a rather rude sign when Tatsumi-san joined them in the small clearing, echoing Junji's initial report. The hunter-nin in question silently let them know that they would give the Hyuuga another half an hour of rest before they would move out. Sakura was about to jump up into a tree to do her own share of keeping watch when the Inuzuka spoke up.

“If you're not discussing some serious village secrets you know you can talk to us, right?” Sakura paused and turned her head to look at the chuunin, blinked a few times before quietly asking Junji for guidance. He refused to help. Damn this entire mission.

“We were merely deciding on a strategy. Be ready to take off in thirty,” Sakura informed the trio, then immediately put some distance between her and her taichou to fume in solitude. He really was going to make her do the talking for the entire duration of the mission. If this was some sort of hidden test she would drag Mei to the training grounds and do her best to maim the woman, weakened state or not.

“I am fine. We can leave immediately if- if you want.” With raised brows, Sakura studied the Hyuuga, followed by a shake of her head.

“You need the break. Use it well. We won't stop again until we found our team.” Junji spun his fingers in a circle and reluctantly, she obeyed.

“In case of open confrontation, you will disengage immediately. Whoever is responsible for these disappearances is likely to prioritise our team over yours which should give you plenty of opportunity to run for cover or, depending on the severity of the situation, seek aid from the closest outpost.” Sakura didn't notice that she had straightened her back and interlocked her hands behind her back as if she were delivering a mission report to Mei. Junji's muted snicker alerted her to this fact, prompting her to instantly drop the posture.

“What?! Damnit, just because we're not ANBU doesn't mean we're useless!” So much for age mellowing his attitude, Sakura thought derisively as she stared down the enraged Inuzuka.

“Your Hokage sent you to assist us with tracking, not combat. She was quite specific that you are to stay out of any eventual altercations,” she retorted, tilting her head towards Junji.

“Did nobody tell them about their orders?” Sakura asked the hunter-nin who merely shrugged in disinterest.

“This is bull-” He didn't get far, courtesy of the hand the Hyuuga clamped over his mouth, wide-eyed and surprised at her own reaction.

“We understand,” the Aburame stated before getting to his feet and brushing the dirt off his coat. A quick tap on his wrist later, Junji signalled the end of their brief break. The simple action filled Sakura with an incredible sense of relief. This entire back and forth between her and the hunter-nin as well as being forced to do all the talking, thus forcing her to spend most of her energy on being civil and mostly friendly grated on her nerves. The Hyuuga stopped swaying in place and seemed suitably recovered, ready to get back to it. Without further communication, their group headed out with the byakugan taking the lead. There was no need to discuss their approach to combat. Sakura was used to fighting alongside Junji and knew they were going to go hard at whomever they found with their chuunin. Tatsumi would provide ranged assistance and Mei wouldn't have picked him if he couldn't do his job without causing trouble for front liners. Barely half an hour later, the Hyuuga stopped.

“I- They're ahead. Four of them. I'm... I'm sorry.” Sakura's blood ran cold and her heart beat elevated, sending spikes of energy throughout her entire body. Junji gave a sharp nod and they charged ahead, landing in a clearing similar yet significantly larger than the one they had rested at earlier.

The stench of decay assaulted her nose instantly and Sakura heard herself growl at the sea of darkened red that greeted her. Four bodies, brutally cut up littered the ground, the only identifying marker being the remnants of four Kiri headbands resting on top of a small pile of burned twigs. The metal plates were scorched and blackened by the fire that had gone out long ago. Whoever had done this burned the plates but not the bodies. Sakura swallowed audibly as her hands began to shake, doing her best to fend off the budding rage. Isobu's chakra pressed down on her, fighting an already lost fight.

“This is a massacre,” Tatsumi murmured quietly, terrifyingly calm in the face of an oncoming storm. He kneeled down and rolled one of the bodies over. The sight was gruesome. Deep lines were carved into the torso, bits and pieces of organs exposed to fresh air, intestines pouring out of a gaping hole in the stomach. The dead chuunin's eyes were absent, his jaw unhinged and half his teeth cracked or missing. The other three looked the same. They hadn't been killed because they had gotten in anyone's way. That had been a statement.

“Calm yourself, Karatachi-san.” Only then did Sakura become aware of the hand on her shoulders, Tatsumi's sudden proximity and the deep thrum of chakra pulsing through her pathways, spilling out of her tenketsu and mixing with Isobu's acidic power, pushing beyond her skin and pressing down on her immediate surroundings. The sanbi pushed against the confines around her mind, both as warning and promise that he was going to interfere if she didn't step away from the metaphorical edge she was standing on.

“Get her away from the bodies.” Junji's voice sounded like he was underwater, blurred and distant, barely audible over the rush of blood in her ears. Without warning, the air around her suddenly warped and cleared, the filter of red that tinted her vision faded and the world fell back into focus. Sakura blinked a few times, took a deep breath, noted the lack of iron. There was green around her instead of red, life as opposed to death.

“Apparently all the progress you made means little in the face of actual bloodshed,” the Terumi said before pulling his hand from her shoulder, blue swirly mask giving off an air of judgement. Sakura bristled at the condescension in his tone, only barely resisting the urge to bear down on him and exploiting his lack of height.

“Aren't you supposed to be on my side or something?” she demanded, irritation only growing at the scoff she received in return.

“I am not Mei-sama and so wilfully indulgent of your every mood and whim. I told her you're not ready yet. She seems to have forgotten that not everyone can play you like an instrument,” the man retorted and in that moment reminded Sakura so much of Utakata that she nearly lost herself again. This time Isobu was not so lenient. And he made it _hurt_.

“Fine. _Fine_. We can go back.” Tatsumi looked like he wanted to argue but Sakura already left him behind, soon picking up the scent of blood and shortly after feeling Junji's icy presence nearby. In the few minutes they had been gone, the Konoha chuunin had joined the hunter-nin in the clearing, looking various stages of nauseous. The Hyuuga's skin was pale and clammy, likely a result of throwing up while the Inuzuka did an admirable job of holding it together despite being as white in the face as his female teammate. Catching the eyes of Junji, Sakura nodded once, followed by a quick 'ok' sign. He seemed sceptical, most likely due to the waves of displeasure rolling off of the Terumi but thankfully decided not to press the issue. Sakura consciously did not stare at the bodies and let Isobu project his calm into her mind without fighting him on it. The presence of foreign ninja helped immensely. For the time being she still counted among the village's dirtiest secrets. Having two jinchuuriki while the rest of the world was convinced both of your biju were lost was an immense advantage.

“It's not them,” she heard herself say, still focusing on Junji and not giving anything else away. The meaning of her statement was clear to the other Kiri.

“I ran these kinds of missions. It's different, this time.” And it was. Konoha had ordered Sakura to kill in countless varying ways, to make it look like an accident, make it look personal, make it look like a clean hit. Nothing even scratched the surface of the sheer brutality these chuunin had been subjected to. Junji didn't answer for a moment, followed up with a nod.  
“Their tags were still on them. We'll bring them home, then look into other sources,” he said as he slipped four small metal plates attached to bland chains into his haori. He then turned his body to face the foreign nin.

“Kiri thanks you for your aid. Mizukage-sama will contact your Hokage as soon as she receives our report.” Content to hang back, Sakura listened to Junji and cast the bodies one last look before making her decision.

' _Interesting. It seems your Terumi was right after all._ ' Sakura privately thought that she and the turtle might get along better if he stopped being so cryptic all the time while reaching into her pack and unsealing four body scrolls from a storage scroll Mei had given her months ago.

“You can't bring them back to their families like this,” Tatsumi interjected, not that Sakura listened to him.

“They'll be buried in the ocean just like they're supposed to,” was all she offered before getting started on her self-imposed task. With Isobu so conscious and watchful it was easy to not get lost in the stench of death.

' _Daughter of the Sea, indeed_.' Rolling her eyes, Sakura stalked over to the last corpse and had just completed the process when an alert gasp pierced the silence in the clearing. Her head snapped around painfully fast and centred on the Hyuuga's pale white eyes which were surrounded by bulging veins.

“Someone's coming!” she announced before being dragged from the scene by the Aburame whose other arm was busy manhandling his other teammate. Sakura quickly resealed the scrolls, drew her katana and fell into formation with her fellow ANBU.

“Fuck.” Junji's quiet exclamation was barely audible but the sheer tension in his voice gave Sakura pause. There were precious few people who could unsettle him. About to open her mouth and ask just who exactly he was sensing, she was interrupted by a blue of black and blue, followed by a startled shriek and an angry bellow. Just seconds later, she saw the source of both.

Hoshigaki Kisame stepped into the clearing, one hand tightly grasping the collar of the Hyuuga's jacket while the other rested loosely by his side. The two remaining chuunin had their weapons out, a black cloud of insects swirling threateningly around the Aburame, angry buzzing accompanied by aggressive barks from their large nin dog.

“Now what do we have here?” the shark man asked with a sharp and toothy grin Sakura only caught the edges of since Junji and Tatsumi had stepped in front of her the second the missing-nin came into view. In hindsight, Junji's reaction made perfect sense. Except they couldn't just run from the scene. Not when a perfectly murder happy criminal held a Konoha nin hostage. Especially one they were unofficially supposed to protect.

“What do you want, Kisame.” Junji was in no mood to play around and his icy aura already crept along his skin, seeping into the air around him. Sakura closed her eyes and fully concentrated on making sure hers stayed well within the confines of her own body. She still remembered what Mei had said. The second Hoshigaki caught wind of her chakra he would hunt her down like a rabid animal. With a quiet curse she realised that by now, she even looked the part. Her clan trappings would seem unassuming to most but as luck would have it, one of the few who would recognise them for what they were, was also the one they had run into.

“I merely caught these three leaves trying to run from a field positively reeking of blood and death. I thought you might be hunting them and decided to help out my former comrades,” the shark man offered with a crooked smirk, thereby displaying all of his sharp teeth. Sakura frowned at his words. There was no love lost between Hoshigaki and Kirigakure. He was a mercenary with ties to Amegakure, completing whatever mission he received for the Akatsuki whose co-leader had assumed kageship of Ame years ago. The man had to have an ulterior motive.

“Konoha kindly lent them to us. Do be so kind and let them go.” It was not a suggestion. Everyone could hear that. Hoshigaki's grin sharpened and he made no move to release his hostage.

“The most curious thing just happened to me,” the shark man began with mock thoughtfulness and upon shifting slightly to the side, Sakura could see that he even tapped his chin.

“I was on a simple stroll through Hi no Kuni to look into who exactly is trying to start a war with my old village when I experienced a most peculiar feeling.” His teeth sharpened as his chakra flared.

“It was much like something I felt many years ago. I thought to myself: How is that possible? The person who was responsible for that is dead.” Junji's aura spread and the grass beneath his feet was coated by a thin sheen of frost. His fingers twitched momentarily before his stance strengthened as if he was just seconds away from launching himself at the missing-nin.

“Unless,” and here Hoshigaki's smile turned into a frightful grimace, one that promised bloody murder.

“He had a child.” The following silence was telling enough.

“Why don't you two just step aside and let me deal with the demon. You can take your allies and leave peacefully.” The jig was up, the game over. Sakura released a shuddering breath as sweat built on her temples and her heart pounded so painfully in her chest that she feared it might just break through her rib cage any second now. Adrenaline flooded her veins as her pathways threatened to overflow with her and Isobu's combined chakra. Her world sharpened and focused, all outside stimuli faded away until all she could feel was the nigh endless power at her fingertips.

“Sorry, Kisame. No can do.” Junji was hard to understand through the echo of her heart beat. Sensing the oncoming confrontation and ready to meet one natural disaster with her own, Sakura reached for her twin tanto, humming in satisfaction when part of her chakra immediately travelled into the steel which soaked up the energy like a sponge.

“You know, I used to think Mei-chan had enough common sense not to go looking for monsters that thrive in the darkest of depths. I obviously overestimated her.” Her aura had filled the clearing by now, bearing down on everyone with the force of the ocean, ready to drown everyone not able to swim well enough. Tendrils of acid mingled with her natural chakra, weaving a net that seamlessly integrated itself into Sakura's hungry killing intent.

“Mizukage-sama reclaimed half of Kiri's legacy as is the duty of her reigning sovereign,” Junji spoke with a voice that had reached sub zero temperatures and with every word he spoke, the ice that had grown around the handle of his katana crept further along the blade.

“She did her duty when she killed him. Inviting his spawn back into the village is treason.” Sakura's chakra flared brightly and she clutched the handles of her swords even tighter. The only reason she still held back was Isobu restricting her movements as well as he was able. If he let go now, there would be casualties. Sakura very much wouldn't mind them. Tatsumi, while armed and ready, had inched backwards to still cover Sakura but also grip one of her wrists tightly enough to leave marks. Mei might have been able to still pull her back from the edge. He was nothing in comparison to her.

“She chose selfishness over the well-being of her birth place. Perhaps she needs a reminder as to whom she really serves.” Sakura snarled, a rough and ugly sound and only Junji's split second intervention prevented her from flinging herself the the shark man.

“Ah. Fishy. So it _is_ you. I did wonder just why Yuki-chan here was so desperate to get you out of my sight. What a shame. I think I would have liked you.” His words meant nothing to her as she tugged against Junji's firm hold on her wrist, unwilling to let her charge while the three chuunin were still in the path of destruction.

' _Do not get us killed, stupid child!_ ' Isobu hissed in her mind but even his voice was muted and distorted, too weak to punch through the steady chant of violence resonating within her head.

“Remember what we told you to do in case of a confrontation. Run, and run _fast_.”

Several things happened at the same time. As soon as Junji finished speaking, he let go of Sakura's wrist. Tatsumi shunshined right in front of Hoshigaki, grabbed the Hyuuga around the waist and threw her into the arms of her comrades. Then, Isobu released his own shackles.

Sakura's chakra exploded, the deep magenta sun within her began to glow and she _bloomed_.

“Ru- run! Fas...ter!” Hinata's lungs burned like they never had before as she stumbled her way through the forest, only barely keeping up with Shino and Kiba. She felt light-headed and weak as if she had been unconscious and even now was barely a step away from passing out. Sheer instinct was the only thing keeping her going. Instinct and _fear_.

It had been surprising to see Sakura-san again. She remembered her from the academy days as the quiet and unsociable child of civilians. She had always been without friends, always apart from everyone else. Hinata had known because she used to be the same. But even then, her own reasons for her distant behaviour were rooted in an almost crippling shyness. Sakura-san on the other hand had never wanted to associate with anyone. That hadn't changed when she was assigned to a team with Naruto-kun and the ever popular Sasuke-kun. Due to her crush on the blonde boy, Hinata had come to spend a lot of time near Team 7. Sakura-san could only rarely be found in their proximity.

In fact, her first real memory of the girl had been during the second task of the chuunin exams and the only thing she recalled from that day was the terribly red and still form of Ino, the blood that soaked Sakura-san's clothes. Her frightening viciousness, the violence with which she had fought against the blonde Yamanaka who never even stood a chance. Hinata's first real response to Sakura-san was fear. So was the last.

“What... the fuck... was that?” Kiba asked, out of breath himself and faring only marginally better than the rest of them. Even Shino had trouble standing upright. Not to mention Akamaru who had stopped whining a while ago, now eerily quiet as they sped through the forest.

“I don't... know. We need to hurry. Call... for help,” Shino replied shakily.

“Help? For who... exactly? Fuck, I don't know what... they do... to people in Kiri but... fucking _hell_ ,” Kiba breathed, face white, no doubt recalling the aggressively red fountain of chakra only barely resembling a human that used to be Sakura. Hinata swallowed audibly in between painful stabs in her lungs, only narrowly avoiding a stumble that would've sent her tumbling.

“She- she's strong. It... will be... f- fine,” Hinata said with doubt colouring her voice. She had no idea if anything would be fine. She had never seen anything like that and wondered, just like Kiba, just what Kirigakure had done to her former classmate. Whatever she had done in that clearing was beyond scary. Nothing at all like the girl she used to go to the academy with.

The chuunin exams had been the last time she'd seen her where, before Suna started their invasion, she had struck down a sound nin without blinking. Then another and another as the world descended into chaos. Hinata had been busy fighting side by side the rest of her family as they defended the civilians around them and pushed back the hostile forces. Sakura-san had been right at the heart of the fight, using her katana to end one life after another. That was the second time she had seen evidence of just how different this girl was from everyone around them and how little she truly fit in.

Hinata had never given it much thought before because outsiders simply existed, herself being a prime example. This went beyond being an outsider. There was something about Sakura-san that made it glaringly obvious that she did not belong. In the end, she hadn't been promoted just like everyone who wasn't Shikamaru. She had faded into obscurity after that, never heard from again except for the rare rumour. Hatake-san had taken her on as apprentice when the other two left and deserted respectively. Then both of them disappeared and Hinata heard from Kiba's sister that there was a newly formed ANBU team under the leadership of the famous copy-nin. One of the members allegedly had pink hair. Two years later Naruto came back and told Hinata that Sakura had left the village. There was no outcry, no chase, so she assumed that there was more to the situation than just 'Eh, she just kind of left.' Hinata stopped thinking about her after that. Until, one year later, they crossed paths again.

“We're... close. This way!” Kiba exclaimed, took a sharp left that nearly sent him flying and took off into their new direction. With shaky fingers, Hinata fumbled with her supply pouch until her fingers closed around a small brown pill. Kurenai-sensei had made sure they were equipped with just about anything they could possibly need once she received news that her old genin team was assigned to a joint mission with Kirigakure. They were only supposed to help them track one of their missing chuunin cells, then head home. A simple C-Rank. Nobody had expected Akatsuki show up. Or whatever it was that Sakura had turned into. A visible shudder raced down her spine and Hinata forced her eyes shut to try and forget the gruesome image of that amalgamation of corrosive chakra and killing intent.

“What do we... report, exactly?” Shino asked to which Kiba replied:  
“I don't know! Akatsuki wants to... kill allies, except... ally turns into weird chakra monster?!” They couldn't say that but it wasn't like they actually knew anything about the situation. Unlike the other two Kiri ANBU. Who had been perfectly aware of exactly what was happening and restrained Sakura-san until they launched her at the Akatsuki like a weapon.

“Fucking... C-Rank... my ass!” Kiba bit out as they sped up, now close to the outpost. Hinata wished they had seen it coming. Team 7 had always been cursed with unlucky C-Ranks. From the moment she spotted the pink braid on one of the ANBU, she should have known. Events tended to go downhill whenever one of them was involved. As a matter of fact, their initial meeting had already been somewhat of a disaster. Clearly Kiri had changed Sakura-san or at least made her comfortable enough to be herself. Rough edges had only become sharper, the distant and cold personality she remembered now full-on abrasive and perpetually... angry. Hinata had felt the chakra thrum in the girl's body and watching her sign an entire conversation with her team leader, she had taken a single look at her pathways, momentarily taken aback by the sheer glow they emitted.

Hinata couldn't remember the only civilian of their graduating class ever having such outrageous amount of chakra. The knowledge had startled her enough to stumble and a possibly lethal fall was prevented by Sakura-san's quick intervention. She had been a little... not nicer after that, but more sociable. Clearly uncomfortable with making small talks, both of them had stumbled through a terribly awkward conversation that was eventually cut off by Shino who had let the Kiri nin off the hook. Hinata had been exhausted then, continuous usage of her doujutsu draining her reserves. She had gladly taken the opportunity for a break. Then, they had found the missing team. The memory of those mutilated corpses came close to making her throw up again.

“Hey! HEY!” Kiba yelled at the top of his lungs as they broke through the treeline, landing on the wooden wall of a small outpost. A group of three senior chuunin as well as a jounin quickly assembled on the wall next to them, taking in their dishevelled appearances with inquisitive eyes.

“Team 8 here to... report, on an... altercation. We were on a mission with... Kiri shinobi. We were attacked by Akatsuki, they... told us to run. Something... fuck, I don't know, something happened to one of them and... shit, I don't know, they need help or something!” Hinata doubled over, hands on her sides, dizzy from exhaustion. Shino kept her from falling over and helped her stand up straight. They had to go back. There was no doubt about that. Those Kiri ANBU had given them the chance to get away, they wouldn't leave them on their own.

“Names and registration numbers,” one of the chuunin demanded and Hinata noticed how her mouth opened and words came out:  
“There's- there's no time! Sa- Sakura-san, she... we have to help them!” That got the jounin's attention. Hinata didn't know his name but had seen him around the village many times before. The bandana and senbon stuck between his teeth were something of a trademark.

“Sakura? Haruno Sakura?” he asked, infinitely more alert then before, apparently willing to skip the exchange of identification codes.

“Karatachi... she said her name... was Karatachi,” Shino answered and from one moment to the next, Hinata experienced a flash of inspiration.

“Kara...tachi... clan head. F- Founding clan of Ki- Kirigakure. Her grand... father was the Yon- Yondaime Mizukage.” Her father might consider her a disgrace but Hinata had always known her way around politics. If Konoha didn't come to the aid of the descendant of a former kage, the consequences would be dire. The jounin seemed to arrive at the same conclusion. And he looked at her like he was fully aware of what she had just done.

“Report on the way. Sato, with me,” he ordered one of the chuunin, then handed Kiba a small canteen filled with water. After they each took a large gulp, they were off again.

“There were no complications... until we found their missing team. They- were dead. Karatachi-san seemed affected and... left with one of the other ANBU. Shortly after their return... Hinata saw someone approaching through her... byakugan,” Shino reported while Hinata did her best not to trip. She would be useless once they arrived at the clearing, in no condition whatsoever to fight. She had overused her byakugan. A single glance towards her team mates told her that at least Kiba and Shino were slowly recovering.

“Their team leader told us to run but... the missing-nin intercepted us and caught... Hinata. It was Hoshigaki Kisame.” Rationally, Hinata knew that nobody blamed her for what happened. She was exhausted and couldn't have fought back even if she wanted to. Nobody expected three chuunin to outmanoeuvre an S-Rank criminal.

“It turned into a hostage situation. Hoshi...gaki bartered with your safety in exchange for... Karatachi-san. He referred to her as a demon and... meant to kill her.” That got a visible reaction from the jounin who stiffened and clenched his jaw, then picked up the pace.

“They were arguing... it didn't make much sense to us. Then the air... changed. It felt like the oxygen was drained directly from our lungs and replaced with... water. We couldn't breathe and then were hit by a... devastating amount of killing intent. It was heavy and wet, as if we were drowning. A few moments later, the second wave burned, sharp and caustic.” Hinata flinched, momentarily experiencing phantom pains from where the chakra had brushed against her skin, searing it and biting its way through her bone till it reached her bones. She hadn't been injured yet went through the agony all the same.

“Finally, one of them shunshined next to Hoshigaki, stole Hinata out of his grasp and threw her at us. The other one told us to run. When we looked back one last time, they... had both let go of Karatachi-san who... didn't appear to be herself anymore,” Shino finished and Hinata observed the jounin frowning heavily, stress punctuating every single one of his words:  
“What did she look like?” Kiba and Shino both paused, so Hinata tentatively spoke up.

“Red... angry. Her body was... gone. S- She was nothing, but... a human-sh- shaped ball of f- furious chakra.” The jounin's expression was grave and serious as his lips thinned into a white line.

“Sato, I need you to run to Konoha as fast as you can. Refuse to report to anyone but the Hokage and tell her that we have a Stage One within our borders.” Only Kiba's quick reflexes made sure their fellow chuunin didn't fall, his face as pale as a sheet of paper. He gave a quick, jerky nod then broke away from their formation, taking a straight path towards their village.

“Stage One? What does that mean?!” Kiba asked and Hinata was quite curious herself. Stage One implied there were more stages and she feared for what that might mean.

“You kids know about the bijuu, right? Tailed beasts.” Three heads nodded in unison.

“And jinchuuriki who have them sealed inside their bodies?” A dark sense of foreboding hit Hinata and she fervently hoped that the jounin was not going to say what she thought he might.

“Well. Our former colleague is one of them and Stage One means that she has partially merged with her bijuu.” Hinata had known that the situation was dire and something truly unnatural had happened with Sakura-san. She had not anticipated this. Neither of them had. There was little time to fret over the issue, however as they rapidly closed in on the clearing.

Or, Hinata thought as she dropped out of the trees and onto the grass, what used to be the clearing. The entire area was devastated. Trees were uprooted and littered the ground like discarded toys, splinters and bark covered every exposed inch of grass, deep furrows were cut into the ground and a good portion of the forest around them had turned into marshland. The odd formation of ice stood out like a sore thumb as did lumps of what looked almost like... coral? An explosion that rocked the earth, tore Hinata from her thoughts as she fought to stay upright. That was when she saw it. Far in the distance, on top of a small lake that didn't used to be there, stood the Akatsuki with his sword outstretched in front of his body and a boiling red mass of chakra that flew through the air right at the man, a massive tidal wave following at its heel. Both the wave and the chakra collided with Hoshigaki, causing a loud roar not unlike that of a waterfall to echo through the forest.

“What the fuck...,” Kiba murmured as the water was swept away and the massive sword caught the brunt of the jinchuuriki's attack before the man swung it around, successfully pushing back his opponent and sending her backwards, into the lake.

“The tails have already formed. That's Stage Two. If Sato's not fast enough and Jiraiya-sama is out of the village, we're about to have a massive sanbi-shaped problem on our hands.” Hinata gulped as she watched Sakura-san (?) emerge from the lake, tearing apart the sharks that had surrounded her while dodging the Akatsuki's sword.

“You did well in notifying me but there's nothing I can do. This is the kind of fight only monsters like Hoshigaki Kisame can survive and even he's going to be flattened once the sanbi takes over.” Hinata felt both hot and cold. Some amount of the earlier terror that had clouded her senses returned as she couldn't help but think of the stories her mother had told her about the kyuubi attack. They were in Fire country, Konoha not that far away. What if Sakura-san was consumed by the bijuu and ended up demolishing Hinata's village? What in kami's name were they supposed to do?!

“Shit, that's the other two!” Kiba exclaimed suddenly and had already run off, not towards the lake but a mess of trees, leaves and dirt not far away and to the left of them. The jounin gave chase and after a minute of indecision, Hinata followed. Kiba had been right. Masks shattered and gone, clothes signed and cut in places, the two male members of Sakura-san's team laid on two partially shattered trees, discarded like broken tools. The jounin immediately checked their pulses and let out a quiet curse.

“That one's a goner,” he declared and pointed at the short auburn-haired male Sakura-san hadn't interacted with much. He was mostly unharmed except for a large gaping wound across his chest that looked like someone had shaved skin and flesh off his body. The sight was harrowing and Hinata quickly averted her eyes.

“Help me get him on even ground,” the jounin said to Kiba and together they lifted the other, much taller, male off the broken tree. His wounds were vastly different in the way that they were conspicuously absent.

“What's wrong with him?” Hinata asked quietly and kneeled down to take a closer look. His front was wet with water and he had something that closely resembled bite imprints on his ankle but that was it.

“I've seen this before. Nasty Kiri technique that places a bubble of water around the victim's head. It's meant to kill but this was just enough to make him pass out. If I didn't know any better I'd say that it wasn't Hoshigaki who did this to him.” But why would Sakura-san attack her own team member?

“He seems very fond of her. It is possible she disabled him to prevent him from getting injured while protecting her. Sasuke has done this to Naruto on numerous occasions.” Now that Shino mentioned it, Hinata could see it too. This man had been taken out quickly and efficiently, lack of wounds suggesting that he had hardly even participated in the fight. The bite marks could probably be attributed to the sharks.

Another explosion cut through the steady rhythm happening on the lake and Hinata's head snapped to the side just in time to see the entire water mass of the lake shaped into a sphere and hovering above the ground, come crashing down on the missing-nin whose feet were covered in coral and stuck to the floor. The red blur, three tails whirling around its body, followed the sphere with both of its fists in front of his body, ready to meet the man who had gotten lost in the aftermath of the collision to presumably end him, when Hinata observed a subtle shimmer in the air just behind the jinchuuriki. She opened her mouth in a silent scream and then, suddenly, time slowed down. In absolute terror, Hinata watched as the shimmer took shape and formed into Hoshigaki who swung his sword and pierced straight through the blur.

“SAKURAAAAAAAA!”

When she opened her eyes, she didn't know where she was. It was warm, pleasantly so, and calm. Calm was an interesting concept, she thought. One she had never truly known. There was always a whisper, always a hum, always the beat of her heart to prevent complete and total silence. Not now. Now, there was nothing. She wanted to blink but she didn't think she had eyes or a head or even a body. She just... was.

**Sakura.**

She knew that voice. She had heard it before in the twilight hours of her meditation just moments before being sealed. And many times before that, always in her dreams, always under that blazing magenta sun. As if the mere thought was a summon, the orb suddenly blinked into existence, glow bright and alive but dimmed and oddly muted.

**I wish the circumstances were more pleasant.**

The voice was coming from the sun. The voice was _the_ sun. It didn't move as it spoke but that was definitely where the sound came from, swinging with the same warmth and coloured the same shade of darkened, slightly faded pink.

**I deeply regret the actions that have led to this very moment.**

She wanted to open her mouth, demand who was speaking to her and why they were firmly lodged inside her own mind but couldn't. She was nothing more than a thought in this moment, shape- and formless, a drifting idea in this wide expanse of nothingness.

**I made you a promise and I intend to keep it.**

A faint memory rose from the depths of her consciousness, the words the voice had spoken to her months ago, a promise of keeping watch, of never leaving her alone and abandoned. She had heard the words then, forgotten about them soon after but remembered now that they had clawed themselves inside her heart to stay.

**I need you to step into the sun.**

Even if she could she was almost violently opposed to the idea. Where was Isobu? Hell, where was she? And why could she not recall the events that occurred to her awakening in this place? Was she sleeping? Dreaming? Where was that damn turtle?

**He cannot reach you. He tries to keep your body alive, to save you. Loathe as he would be to admit it, he has grown fond of you.**

Save her? Why did she need saving? What the FUCK was going on?!

**I will explain when there is time. You are dying, Sakura and I cannot allow that to happen. I implore you. Please, embrace the sun.**

If the voice was going to explain it had better do it now because there was no way she was going to listen to a nameless construct that had somehow found its way inside her head and was trying to coax her into climbing into a rotten sun of all things!

**I am sorry for having to do this. Please forgive me.**

She was about to demand what that was supposed to mean when suddenly, the sun's warmth became unbearably hot. It scorched her very being, burned away her edges, sucked her in to swallow her whole.

**I will save you, Sakura. Always.**

She screamed as she was forcefully dragged inside the orb and her entire world became engulfed in flames.

An audience of three chuunin, one kyuubi container, two jounin: one an assassin, the other wielder of a sharingan, a white-haired sannin and a cat-faced mask bore witness to the moment that the lifeless body of Karatachi Sakura rose from the ground, the giant hole in her chest rapidly closing and formerly jade green eyes a cold, impossibly cruel shade of magenta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know that thing where you have your plot planned out and write your story according to it but then it just does its own thing and next you look, you end up at a point that was never part of your draft. This is what happened. Hinata wasn't supposed to have lines and Konoha wasn't meant to find out. Well. Here we are anyway. Fuck my planning, I guess. Did you know that Yuugito was supposed to be in this? Hinata literally stole her lines. It's like a Kpop girl group where Yuugito is the main vocal but Hinata's the popular one so she gets to sing all the time. Sorry for that godawful comparison but it's true.  
> Guess I'll have to write a seperate piece with Yuugito (best cat lady btw) to make up for it.
> 
> Also, after the kyuubi attack you bet that every single ninja in that village has biju PTSD and takes that shit seriously. They don't know that it's Isobu who keeps Sakura contained, not the other way around.


	8. Act I: Part VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. Hinata has some thoughts and Sakura is really not doing well while Isobu is starting to keep secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOW WITH ACTUAL ARTWORK! The amazing Chipichanga (chipichanga01 on tumblr) drew this image of an underwater Sakura for me! Lookit! Is amazing!
> 
> I decided to put my answers to reviews in the next chapter because I feel like I bother people by constantly replying so here we go:
> 
> @Boycottlove: I know, right. It gets worse but also mellows out. I'm glad you liked it. :)  
> @Tiner_Titan: Welcome, new reader! :) That's really high praise. Thank you! I like Sakura a lot but kind her somewhat lacking. Which is why I write a ton of Sakura-sentric stories. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.  
> @classical_mess: I'm glad you like it and thanks for reading my story! Sakura's pretty vicious in this one :)  
> @rnotts: Well to be fair it's a new story :) I'm happy you enjoy it though and hope you'll also like future updates.  
> @Berbear: Haha, I AM sorry for that cliffhanger but I felt like being mean. I also despaired over the chapter so I was super happy when I finally found an appropriate ending. I had planned on drawing out the mystery of the Yagura arc but now that the actual plot is slowly picking up (and there's more mysteries that are unsolved) I thought it was a good moment. As always I'm super happy you enjoyed the chaper. I'm extremely grateful for your enthusiastic comment.  
> @lunavinne: You got me, I'm the same. I live for drama with audience. And yeah. Yagura, my favourite boy, finally gets some screen time. I hope you'll like him. Thanks for your awesome comments on like every chapter, they make me so happy I started looking forward to them! :D

Her first memory of her parents was one she wouldn't forget for the rest of her life. She had been young and resting in a lovingly hand-crafted crib, staring at a beautiful ensemble of shells and flowers that was attached to the ceiling right above her head. Her father was in the room with her, looking down at her with a tender smile, fingers reaching out to stroke her forehead when suddenly, the door banged open. Her mother stormed inside with a growl, hands outstretched and reaching for her father's neck. He was a strong man, a capable ninja but no match for the Karatachi matriarch. Red spurted from the gaping hole in his throat and he valiantly tried to fight only to succumb to the continued assault moments later. Teeth bared like fangs, eyes glowing bright and lively, her mother then turned to the crib. Blood dripped down her face and all traces of the warm, loving woman were gone, replaced by a hungry monster. It was in that moment that she learned the meaning of fear. Seconds later, a group clad in blue appeared behind her mother and restrained her before she could harm anyone else. Years later, she would be told that she had lost two grandparents and an aunt in the same night that she lost her father. All of them to her mother's completely unexpected bloom.

It was her first taste of the madness that ran in her family's veins.

( _No it wasn't. Her father was still_ alive.)

She had always been a small child. Deceptively fragile and delicate looking, more similar to the civilian children she sometimes spotted during the rare times her mother took her shopping for clothes outside of the compound. They liked to make fun of her, ask her why she wore boy clothes. She told them she was a boy, then they laughed because her hair was long and made her look like a girl.

It was the first time that she broke tradition and cut her hair, keeping it short for the rest of her life.

( _That wasn't true. She was_ tall _, her hair was_ long _and she was a_ girl.)

She was three when she joined the academy. She was fast and agile, already had a firm grasp on chakra control and was perfectly capable of defeating most children in her year despite being one year younger and so much smaller than them. Some of them, especially the civilians, had tried to bully her at first for the way she looked but the clan children quickly put a stop to that. Everyone knew that you were supposed to stay away from the Karatachi. They were powerful shinobi, the strongest in the entire village, rivalled only by the Terumi. She sat in her seat, quiet but watchful, ignoring the stares as older children told the rest about just what had happened two years ago.

It was the first time that others looked at her in fear but oh, it would not be the last.

( _She joined the academy when she was five. They hadn't liked her back then but they hadn't been_ afraid.)

Her sixth birthday was marked by a first and a second. Her first kill. Her second dead parent. It had been an accident. She hadn't meant to do it. She told them, tried to explain that the jutsu wasn't meant to do that. Nobody believed her except for the men and women in blue. She met a new man that day, someone tall and auburn-haired that told her she would be living with him now and he would take care of her. She liked him if only because he made that itch beneath her skin go away. Three weeks later he gave her a gift. It was a small, intricate puzzle box she was to hold onto during her daily meditation. She did as he asked but hadn't expected the box to make conversation.

It was the first time she met Isobu, who would one day become her best friend.

( _Wrong, all of this was wrong. She had met Isobu when she was fifteen, not six, and never killed her mother! Wrong, so... so..._ wrong.)

She graduated when she was eight years old and she was a force of nature. She made chuunin within the year and jounin months later, a career path out of place during peaceful times. She declined a mask and instead focused on protecting her village from the inside. She had been unable to save either of her parents and she would make sure never to repeat that mistake again. Every day she meditated, spent countless hours talking to Isobu, honed her combat skills while steadily growing closer to her estranged family. The man helped with that. She studied her clan's legacy for weeks, then months and vowed to protect the blue, the green and the village for the rest of her days.

It was the first time she fell in love which made the future that awaited her even more tragic.

( _Who... this wasn't her! None of this! Who_ was _this?!_ )

The man had a child and the first time she laid eyes on it, she fell in love all over again.

_The first time she saw her, she felt like coming home and loved her fiercly for it._

When she was fifteen, she met a girl and let her touch her only to nine months later learn that somewhere out there, she had a child of her own.

_At fifteen, she finally returned to the place she belonged, heart so full it threatened to burst and years of loneliness swallowed by the sea._

On her twenty-first birthday she finally had the family she always craved and all of them looked at her with pure trust and adoration as she accepted the hat.

 _Her family had never been large, few in number but so beyond precious she lacked the words to properly express what she felt when she looked at auburn hair and emerald eyes in which she lost herself just enough to forget about how much she missed_ him.

When she was twenty-nine, she met an Uchiha, and in the blink of an eye, her entire world shattered into countless tiny fragments.

_The first time she saw the pretty dark-haired woman, her mother dragged her away and ran straight back home, unshed tears in her eyes._

She was forty and stared death right in the eye, accepted her end with peace in her heart, filled to the brim with pride and hope for a better future.

_She was eight when the letter came and she was unable to fall asleep as her mother's broken sobs echoed through their small apartment._

There was nothing after death and she drifted aimlessly across a ghostly white sea, unable to move on, denied eternal rest, until one day, there was _something_.

_Her days were filled with wrongness and detachment, the kind of loneliness that festered and gave birth to the kind of anger that would mark the rest of her existence._

It was a spark, small and bright, energetic and familiar, pink and green, so she grit her teeth and with all her might, latched onto it and pulled herself closer, refusing to let go.

 _When she was thirteen, she was assigned to a team with the last remaining Uchiha and_ hated.

When she was forty-five, she fell asleep and when she woke, she was once again thirteen.

( _Who are you?_ )

Here and now, years later, miles away, a girl thought dead clawed her way back into life, mind overtaken by sheer rage and cold fury as she stared at her not-quite murderer, pupil-less magenta eyes promising pain, violence and death.

“ **You just made your last mistake** ,” she said with a kind of transparent calm that did nothing to conceal the storm beneath the surface. The man's eyes narrowed, then widened as he stared at her as if she were a ghost.

( _What is your name?_ )

“Yagura?!”

When she was forty-five and thirteen, _she_ became _they_.

“Whatever this is... it's not the sanbi.” Tensions ran high and chakra roiled as the oppressive aura of concentrated malice which emanated from the girl collided with their small assembly. The young ones had gone down instantly, clutching their necks and gasping like fish on land until Cat had grabbed and taken them to the edge of the clearing, bringing as much distance as possible between them and the source. Only a burning flare of the kyuubi's chakra had been able to disrupt the hold that unholy killing intent had on Naruto. That particular feel of scorching ember never failed to cause shivers running down his spine despite having spent two years with the boy, teaching him how to control the fox to the best of his ability.

“She's too controlled and the chakra doesn't feel like his. It's human.” Yes, Jiraiya thought, the Hatake brat would know exactly what the sanbi felt like. They had been in the same room when a chuunin runner had stormed into Tsunade's office to deliver a report of four words that had them all pale in utter terror.

'Stage One within borders.'

Words none of them had ever wanted to hear. There had been no details, just a quick rundown of the tracker team assigned to the Kiri recovery mission arriving at an outpost, run ragged and dry as if death itself had been chasing them. Claiming that one of the Kiri ANBU had transformed into a murderous red beast composed of spite and fury and not much else. And not just any Kiri ANBU. The lost spawn of the demon who had drowned his own village in blood, a girl so vicious and violent she had taken the chuunin exams as an excuse to go hunting. A girl too much to handle even for a rabid dog. A girl too dangerous to keep. Jiraiya had sat beside Tsunade as she breathed a sigh of relief mere hours after signing the contract that transferred that girl into the care of a hungry shark in all but name. The same girl who had been sealed with the sanbi and lost control of it within Konoha's own borders.

“He... he's laughing,” Naruto spoke up tentatively, as if unsure of his own words, still shaken by the immense hunger and cruelty in the air. Jiraiya frowned, unwilling to ponder what the fox was so amused by.

“Should we interfere?” Shiranui asked, trademark senbon absent and hands buried in the pockets of his pants.

“No.” Stepping between whatever it was that was going on between the ex-Kiri turned Akatsuki and that girl looked beyond personal. All of that hatred was directed at Hoshigaki and Jiraiya was not going to risk anyone by sending them into that fray. However ugly their fight had been before their arrival, he did not doubt that things were about to take a turn for the worse. He had to remain ready and vigilant just in case he had to deal with another rampaging bijuu. Jiraiya remembered the deaths and the screams, the fire and the agony, the burning village, the long lives of Minato and Kushina that never came to be. Not again. Never again.

“ **You are going to regret the moment you decided to hunt my young.** ” It was her voice yet not, two fused into one, the pitch of a girl covered in everything that made him, anger and fury developed so far beyond hers, matured in ways only age and experience could bring. It came from deep within her belly, loud and echoing, an altogether unholy combination. A perfect representation of her very being. Power flowed through her veins, familiar and comforting but different, nuanced, like two instruments playing the same tune in mismatched rhythms. It was difficult to think of who she was, female or male, young or old, alive or dead. There was hatred, hunger and joy shared between the two souls stuck inside her body and it was impossible to tell where they began and where they ended.

“I'd say I'm surprised to see you're even more of a monster than I thought but that would probably be a lie,” the shark man growled with narrowed eyes while baring his teeth in a universal sign of aggression. Her blood still dripped from his sword but the wound had long since closed. Isobu, her once and always friend, had given all of himself to keep her alive. And it was only for that reason, the sanbi's diminished and comatose state, that _he_ had been able to break free in the first place.

“ **She is strong but young. I can take you, Hoshigaki and this time, I will make sure you don't get up again.** ” It was a promise, sealed in blood and an old bond of mutual betrayal and hatred. She had never gotten the chance to make this man pay for his treachery but now she had an even stronger reason to see him dead. He would hunt her until the end of her days if he could. She would never let that happen. Her young would not be condemned for the sins of their forefather.

“I don't know how the hell you ended up possessing your own grandkid but both of you need to be put down. Nothing good ever came from your kamiforsaken blight of a clan.” Her chakra flared and the torrent sped up as she opened the flood gates and let power she hadn't been able to feel for so long, rumble and roar like a true untamed force of nature. She closed her eyes for just a second and inhaled, filled with indescribable delight at the smell of warm summer rain during a particularly nasty thunderstorm. She didn't know for how long she'd been deprived of this, disconnected from her own essence and basked in the euphoria of once again being reunited with what _made_ her. The man in front of her stiffened, no doubt affected by a presence he hadn't encountered in years.

“ **Tremble and fear, young shark for there are more terrible entities hiding in the deep.** ” She spoke those words and smiled before tearing down the final barrier and drowning in her rage.

Hinata had seen Sakura-san fight before. Many years ago during the chuunin exams. Her proficiency in kenjutsu combined with a solid grasp on suiton techniques had been a sight to behold. Especially considering that her entire fighting style had been based on pure instinct instead of clearly distinguishable katas. A foreign shinobi from Ame had asked Hinata if the girl was wearing the wrong headband because she fought like someone from Kiri. That had been then.

Now, it couldn't be more different. Hinata had never seen such... fluid and elegant movements before, even among her clansmen. There was an air of effortlessness around her, surprisingly complimentary to nigh overwhelming malevolence. She and the missing-nin held a short conversation that, judging from the waves of chakra clashing with each other, was anything but friendly before Sakura-san... lit up. Through her byakugan, Hinata had a clear view on their pathways and had to quickly deactivate her doujutsu after the girl poured incredible amounts of chakra into her system, almost blinding her.

Then she began to move and one thing became abundantly clear. Whereas earlier, even in a partially fused state with her bijuu, Sakura-san had been stuck in a stalemate against the ex-Kiri that she ultimately lost. Now, the tables had turned. She was _hunting_. Hinata watched as she shot forwards in a blur, pulled her two tanto that were stuck in the earth halfway between her and the Akatsuki from the ground and began her assault on the older man. She twisted and twirled in fluid movements too fast to properly follow and Hinata wasn't sure if she was just imagining it or not but her feet never even seemed to touch the ground.

What she certainly did not imagine was the obvious lack of hand signs. The water surrounding the two combatants slithered around Sakura-san's body, formed into spikes that attacked the missing-nin from a variety of angles that she had trouble reaching with her blades. When the man tried to retaliate during the few brief moments in which he was not forced on the defensive, the water shaped itself into a bubble that completely encapsulated the girl, absorbing whatever he tried to throw at her. For all intents and purposes it was almost like she could control it through sheer will alone and if the thought wasn't so absurd, Hinata might have even believed it.

“It's like she's a completely different person... again. Seriously, what the fuck do they teach in Kiri?” Kiba asked as he, too had his eyes locked on the spectacle in front of them.

“I doubt that Karatachi-san is a representation of the average Kirigakure shinobi,” Shino retorted and Hinata silently agreed. Something was deeply and profoundly _wrong_ with their former year mate yet she found it hard to fault her for it. Not when she was currently winning against an S-Rank criminal who tried to murder her – and almost succeeded at that. With every second that passed, the man lost more ground as Sakura-san's onslaught continued. The utterly incredible amounts of chakra she expelled from her body weighed down the air and created a veritable dead zone in a large radius around the fighting pair yet it was still enough for her to churn through what had to be a nigh endless supply. Hinata didn't dare look at her directly with her byakugan but she risked a cursory glance at the moving water. Her breath hitched slightly upon spotting the thin, almost invisible threads of chakra weaving and twisting in and around the liquid without being attached to Sakura-san herself. Almost as if it was _alive_.

“Do you think she'll kill him?” His voice was quiet, subdued and Hinata took a single look at Kiba. He seemed dead serious. She returned her attention to the criminal and the Kiri shinobi, took in their narrowed eyes, bared teeth and silent open-mouthed snarls, then whispered:  
“Yes.” Because one of them was going to die and Hinata prayed it wasn't Sakura.

“You would see your village burn just to save a single life?” Kisame spit as he deflected a swipe from her tanto, then ducked under the second. In the span of the last few minutes, he had started slowing down. His forehead glistened faintly, his movements just sluggish enough to be grazed by one of her blades, body tired from constantly having to evade attacks from all sides. Not much longer and he would go down. Not much longer and she could consume her prey.

“ **As always, you fail to understand,** ” she growled, sidestepped a shark attempting to bite her ankles from below before renewing her assault. With one swift movement, she was back in his personal space, taking a stab at his throat.

“ **You are a disgrace, little shark,** ” she hissed into his ear, then drove the handle of her tanto into his stomach. The man coughed and doubled over but got out of her reach before she could finish him. Not that she would have. Not yet. Not until he learned his lesson.

“ **You abandoned your village and forgot your roots, forgot where you came from and where you will return to.** ” She raised her voice, calling out at him across the distance between them.

“Me? A disgrace? What about you, Yagura. You slaughtered your own people, terrorised your village for years! If I am a disgrace then you are scum!” Hoshigaki snarled back, one hand holding his stomach and the other loosely holding his sword. The sharks had retreated and circled around him, watchful and ready to defend their master once she got too close. She clutched her tanto even tighter and straightened her back until she stood at full height.

“ **I am.** ” The words fell from her lips easily, without judgement or inflection. It was an easy truth to admit, one she had gotten used to years ago. It never became easier, knowing what she'd done and having to live with it even in death but nobody could change the past. Erase her sins.

“ **But never... not once... did I forget who I am beholden to.** ” There it was, the fundamental difference between one monster and another. Her eyes hardened and she pointed the tip of one of her tanto at the lake beneath their feet.

“ **We all are slaves to the sea, serve her even in death. But you-** ” The growl returned and she showed her teeth, overtaken and consumed by the primal fury that ran through her veins.

“ **You fancy yourself a man of the land. You have abandoned your legacy and your teachings, turned your back on your creator, became the worst kind of traitor.** ” She extended both of her arms and reached for the water around her. Closing her eyes she felt for its essence, gripped it tightly and pulled. A silent snarl built in her throat as she opened her eyes again, focused on Kisame who assumed a defensive stance, ready to protect himself.

“ **And there is no sin greater than that.** ” With a snap, she flooded the water with her own chakra and charged. Kisame copied her and so they raced towards each other, he with his sharks at his heels, she with a towering wave behind her back.

“YAGURAAAAAA!” the man roared, overtaken by his own fury, a last desperate yell as he raised his sword and his sharks jumped at her, ready to end her once and for all-

“ **Rest now, old friend.** ” And the wave swallowed them both.

Hinata was on her feet and running before she even noticed what she was doing. With energy she didn't know she had, she sped away from her team and towards the sight of two shinobi going for the kill.

“Wha- Hyuuga-san, stop!” The jounin was too slow. Hinata dodged his grip entirely on instinct and kept running until her boots hit water, splashing the lower end of her trousers. None of that mattered. She stumbled and lost her footing more than once, going down with a soft cry each time but kept moving forwards, completely ignorant of her pursuers.

The moment she had seen the giant wall of water crash down onto the heads of Hoshigaki and Sakura-san, time had slowed down to a standstill. She had seen the sharks with their gaping maws flinging themselves at Sakura-san, ready to swallow her whole. She had seen the giant sword that was aimed right at her heart. She had seen the two tanto, pointy ends directed at the man, seconds away from skewering him. She had seen the wave collapse and take both of them with it, dragging them down. Then, nothing.

“S- Sakura-san!” Hinata's words were feeble and weak, scratching her throat as she forced them out, praying to be heard. The surface of the lake was rippling violently so she staggered like a drunk, valiantly trying to stick to the surface without slipping. There was no hint of either of them, only a pool of red at the centre of the lake which rapidly expanded in all directions.

“Sakura-san!!” Her voice cracked and Hinata momentarily lost control of her chakra flow, sinking into the lake with one foot and losing her balance. She yelped and fell forwards into the water. Hinata closed her eyes to protect them from the impact, shivering as she was suddenly surrounded by wetness. It soaked her cloathes in seconds and weighed her down. Hinata scrambled to get back to the surface while steadily sinking lower and lower. In her panic, she opened her mouth in a silent scream, her exhaustion finally catching up with her and mingling with a sudden rush of panic. All air in her lungs left her and she grabbed her throat, blind and unseeing when suddenly, she felt a touch on the back of her neck.

Hinata's eyes shot wide open, met by an entirely unexpected sight. Perfectly calm and still, with incredibly long strands of hair swirling all around her head, Sakura-san looked at her while one of her hands gently touched Hinata's neck. She was mesmerised, she thought, caught in the image in front of her. Eyes that used to be green were now magenta, dark and lively but also calm. There was no rage in those eyes, no promise of violence or death. Her entire face was relaxed as if she had just woken up from a nap. Her hair danced around her body, the usual braid dissolved into nothingness.

She was... magnificent.

From one moment to the next, the spell was broken and Hinata was reminded of the water slowly filling her lungs. The panic returned, her eyes fell shut and her body jerked, desperate for air but unable to act-

The hand on her neck moved to her collar and gripped it tightly. Hinata's world fell out of focus as she suddenly rushed upwards, propelled by an unknown force, dragged up up up until her head broke through the surface.

“HINATA!” She coughed violently, overwhelmed by vertigo and the after effects of near suffocation. She tried to stay above water but her body had nothing left to give. Just as she was about to go under again, the grip on her collar strengthened and pulled her closer to its source.

“ **Calm yourself, girl. You won't drown today.** ” Hinata nodded frantically and clung to Sakura-san even as shivers ran down her spine. She didn't like the change in her tone, the undercurrent that was entirely foreign to the girl's detached and airy voice. It reminded Hinata of deep things, dark things, and she hated it.

“Y- You're fine,” she murmured instead, breathless and tired as she let herself be pulled towards the edge of the lake. The hand on her collar had moved to her waist and held her tightly, effortlessly carrying her dead weight. Sakura-san didn't answer. Not that Hinata expected her to. She didn't like to talk much which was fine. They were similar in that regard.

“Hinata, are you okay? What were you thinking?!” Hearing Kiba yell at and fret over her threatened to drown Hinata in relief. She didn't know what she had been thinking. She had acted entirely irrationally, like an academy student instead of the chuunin she was supposed to be. She didn't even know why she had panicked. Why the fear for Sakura-san's life had been so strong. She was obviously fine. She had come up. Hoshigaki hadn't.

“I'm... I'm okay,” she murmured softly and allowed her teammate to help her out of the water. Hinata fell on her knees and coughed until most of the water had left her lungs all the while Kiba soothingly rubbed her back.

“Congratulations, Karatachi-san. Not many chuunin have an S-Rank kill on their resume,” the white-haired sannin said, almost aggressively neutral. Hinata suddenly realised the tension surrounding them and forced herself to sit up and look at them while waiting for her heartbeat to settle. There they stood, some of Konoha's best and brightest, building a united front against an unknown threat. Sakura-san didn't seem rattled by their standoff-ish attitude. As a matter of fact, she didn't seem rattled at all. As if killing missing-nin was something of an everyday effort.

“ **It was personal,** ” was her answer, delivered in the same emotionless tone that gave away absolutely nothing in regards to how she felt. Her aura was still present, if slightly less intense. Hinata wasn't sure whether she had calmed down and gotten her bijuu under control of if she was just seconds away from attempting to slaughter all of them.

“Aye. That was obvious,” the jounin they had met at the outpost replied drily. The girl paused briefly, as if debating her next sentence before returning her gaze to the sannin.

“ **And I'm a jounin which I assume you are well aware of. If you intended to judge whether or not Isobu has taken control of me, you should ask questions he couldn't answer himself.** ” Oh. Hinata tried to gauge the expression on Jiraiya-sama's face but came up empty. He was a solid wall of concrete, much like Sakura-san herself.

“Isobu, hm? You two get along then?” That remark caused the Kiri shinobi to raise her brows.

“ **My apologies. I momentarily forgot that Kurama is a rather surly tenant.** ” Hinata wasn't sure what to make of that remark but was instantly distracted by Naruto-kun's rather exuberant reaction.

“Ku- You know him?!” he asked, no demanded and was only held back by Hatake-san who placed a hand on the chuunin's shoulder.

“ **This entire situation is tiresome and unnecessary. I understand your apprehension but can assure you that he is perfectly contained. In a show of inter-village cooperation you may examine my seal to assure yourself of its integrity.** ” That had to have been the longest string of words Hinata ever heard Sakura-san say in one go. Still somewhat in awe of her sudden talkative nature, Hinata's train of thought was brought to a halt violently and suddenly when the girl grabbed the hem of what remained of her shirt only to begin lifting it.

She let out an audible squeak and ducked her head, fierce blush dusting her cheeks. To so casually do such a thing in full view of so many strangers... she had to be very confident in herself to do that. Or maybe just didn't care what they thought of her. Somehow, Hinata thought it was both. Raising her head by a tiny margin, she risked a glance only to blush even harder than before.

Sakura-san had lifted her shirt just enough to expose the entirety of her stomach as well as the lower part of her ribs. The muscle of her body was well-defined and obvious, a strong set of abs with a faint outline of a six pack. A small number of scars crisscrossed over pale peachy skin, thin lines in a slightly darker colour that suited her surprisingly well. The kind of injury one sustained during blade training. And above all that were black lines tattooed onto her body in two circular symbols decorated with script so tiny it was impossible to decipher.

“So you claim you didn't lose control and the Stage Two merge was entirely intentional,” Jiraiya-sama asked, doubtful but not disbelieving. Sakura-san lowered her shirt once again and smoothed the fabric. Her hands wandered to her neck, grabbed at nothing, prompting a frown. Hinata remembered the scarf she had been wearing which was now absent. The only thing around her throat was a thin silvery chain, attached to a small flower-shaped pendant.

“ **Isobu is a very calm and cooperative being. His jinchuurikii practise meditation to ensure flawless communication between bijuu and host. I may draw upon his power whenever I need to.** ” Naruto-kun seemed to be hanging onto her every word and Hinata wondered why that was.

“So what's the deal with your eyes?” the jounin, Shiranui-san, asked and Hinata anxiously waited for the answer. She was quite curious about that herself. Was it some kind of doujutsu? Would they ever change back again?  
“ **You're prying, jounin-san. Village secrets are not mine to share. Now that we established that I am in no immediate danger of going onto a rampage, we can end this conversation and I can tend to my kill.** ” The sudden glee in her voice was unsettling, the brief flash of victory mixed with satisfaction in her eyes a look that went well with her face, no matter how disturbing the image was to Hinata.

“ **Kirigakure no Sato thanks you for your assistance and cooperation.** ” Sakura-san sounded oddly formal, regal and elegant in a way she hadn't shown before. Not even the decrepit state of her clothes and general appearance could detract from that general air of dignity. The sight was inspiring and a testament to the kind of self-assurance Hinata wished she shared.

“You are comfortable carrying your unconscious teammate all the way to Kiri on your own?” Sakura-san shot a single look at where her fellow ANBU was laid out on the grass a few feet away from their group.

“ **He will wake within the hour. Handling a corpse is time-consuming work. I will manage** ,” she retorted as she pulled dark leather gloves off her hands and stuffed them in the waistband of her trousers.

“Hunter-nin, huh,” Hatake-san hummed quietly and Hinata acutely remembered that they used to be on the same ANBU team after Sakura-san stopped being his apprentice. The girl in question tilted her head to the side in an uncommittal answer.

“Doesn't seem to be your style,” the man added, causing Sakura-san's expression to sharpen fractionally.

“ **It's been years, Hatake. Your touch means little in the face of natural aptitudes you were never able to foster.** ” At the back of her mind, Hinata wondered why she was suddenly so talkative. She still wasn't nice or even pleasant to listen to but infinitely more willing to even engage with other people. She would attribute it to the situation but it didn't quite feel... right. Like there was something else in play.

“Of course. How foolish of me to think I could measure up to Kiri's high standards.” The man's sarcasm was sharp enough to bite, not that it fazed Sakura-san whose only reaction was an empty stare. Without another word she turned around in order to take a dive and recover Hoshigaki's body when Hatake-san spoke up once more.

“Mind if I stay to confirm the kill?” That prompted a visible reaction from the girl who paused, then turned her head to the side to glance at him out of the corner of her eye.

“ **You may.** ” Spoken like a leader who gave his servant permission. Hinata got the intimate feeling that those two did not mix well. She wondered if their time as mentor and apprentice was just like this, an eternal tug of war between two opposing, similarily unyielding forces. It was a miracle they had been able to function together in ANBU.

“Is this really the time, senpai?” the cat mask asked in a way that suggested a well established relationship of suffering from the other man's moods. Hinata knew that kind of tone well. Ino's rants about Shikamaru were nearly legendary and eerily similar though much more energetic. The ANBU seemed subdued while Ino usually worked herself into rage.

“Ah. We can delay our trip home for another few minutes,” Hatake-san answered and that was that. While Hinata rested on the grass and took a sip of water from Shino's canteen, Sakura-san walked on top of the lake's surface, sinking more and more into the pool with every step she took. A few seconds later she had completely disappeared.

“Something's not right here,” Shiranui-san murmured and while Hinata whole-heartedly agreed she wasn't sure if it was wise to go looking for trouble. Whatever danger Sakura-san posed to Konoha, appeared to be dormant for now. Additionally, she would return to her own village and cross the border of Hi no Kuni in practically no time at all. Personally, she was just so happy that the mission hadn't gone worse. If Team 7 had taught her anything, it was that things always had a way of getting nastier when you least expected it.

“The sanbi _is_ stable and Kiri has always been rumoured to emphasise cooperation and mutually beneficial agreements between their jinchuuriki and their bijuu. The kyuubi may be stronger overall but the kid can only dream of the kind of synchronisation those types possess.” Hinata's ears perked up slightly at the sannin's explanation. This was the first time anyone had ever openly referred to the kyuubi and Konoha's jinchuuriki. Nobody in their year knew who it was. Not that the topic had ever come up. It was as much of a taboo as discussing the circumstances of Uchiha Sasuke's defection and eventual return.

“How do they do it? Talk to each other and... I don't know. She kind of made it sound like they were friends. Which is weird cuz Sakura's never had any friends but still... how to they get along so well?” Hinata would be the first to admit that most of her higher brain functions gave out when she looked at Naruto-kun or he talked to her. Maybe it was just the situation they were in or the shock that still sat deep within her bones. For either reason, this time all she could concentrate on was his unexpected interest in the dynamic between Sakura-san and her bijuu.

“Well, it is said that the bijuu all have different personalities. Apparently the sanbi and the rokubi are the easiest to talk to due to their relatively calm and peaceful natures,” Jiraiya-sama answered thoughtfully while scratching his chin.

“Truthfully I was worried because the girl's almost too old. No one in their right mind would seal a bijuu inside someone way past academy age. They must have killed at least one seal master and even then I'm not sure how they did it.” Any eventual answers fell flat at the sight of Sakura-san once again emerging from the depths of the lake, carrying her two tanto in one hand while the other dragged Hoshigaki's body to the shore. A trail of red followed her and Hinata was abruptly reminded of the dead Kiri chuunin.

“Huh. Guess she actually did it,” Shiranui-san muttered to himself, eyes fixated on the limp blue-skinned man. She dumped him on the ground next to the edge of the lake before laying out her blades next to him to dry.

Now that she got a closer look at the corpse, Hinata pierced together the events that occurred during the final moments of their fight. Hoshigaki's sharks must have been knocked off their course by the crashing wave since Sakura-san appeared entirely unharmed. The man's right arm was cut off at his elbow, hands still loosely holding the handle of his massive sword and rested on his stomach. She must have gotten into his personal space, then proceeded to slice through the limb in order to render him completely defenceless.

Thin red blood still leaked from two large stab wounds on either side of his neck which, combined with the exit wounds, formed the shape of a cross. Sakura-san had to have lodged both her tanto into his neck, possibly paralysing him before slowly exsanguinating the male. His death hadn't been sudden yet neither long or drawn-out. Hinata had absolute confidence that she would've been able to do either. She had simply chosen the middle ground.

“ **Confirm away,** ” she told Hatake-san who crouched down in front of the body, examining the injuries. As he did so, Sakura-san wrung out a drenched piece of clothing in the same colour as the wrapped skirt around her hips. Her eyes never left Hatake-san however, closely following his movements and actions. She did not trust them. Hinata wondered if she would be any different if she was in her place.

“So uh... how's life in Kiri?” Hinata involuntarily flinched at the sound of Naruto-kun's voice and she lowered her head, watching Sakura-san from the corner of her eyes. The girl slowly blinked, then focused on Naruto.

“ **Is that you asking or does Kurama miss his brother?** ” Something passed between the two of them, a jolt of electricity she couldn't see. Naruto-kun's body jerked slightly as he was rendered speechless. Jiraiya-sama was suddenly more interested in the conversation than before and even Hatake-san briefly paused looking at Hoshigaki's corpse.

“Who's Kurama?” Kiba's question broke the spell and life around them resumed even if the tension between Sakura-san and Naruto-kun didn't fade.

“ **I see. Out of sight, out of mind,** ” the girl replied with slightly raised eyebrows and the hint of a smirk on her lips. She looked at them like she knew something they didn't and it was frustrating. Not that Hinata would speak up. No matter how much she wanted to.

“ **You've had your minute,** ” she then added and pointedly stared at Hatake-san until the man removed his hands from the corpse and straightened. At the same time, Sakura-san pulled a body scroll from her satchel, inspected it briefly for water damage before swiftly going through the process. Hinata let Kiba held her to her feet and with a nod, she let Shiranui-san know that she was able to travel on her own. It wasn't like she'd been involved in a life or death type of situation. Privately, she promised herself to train harder once they returned to the village.

“We'll leave you to it then, Karatachi-san. Since this minor incident was resolved without our assistance, we will mark down the mission as a B-Rank and appropriately adjust our reports,” Jiraiya-sama spoke formally and waited for a moment or two for the Kiri-nin to answer. She decided not to. Hinata wouldn't be above admitting that she was somehow disappointed but maybe it was better this way. The mission had not gone as planned and thoroughly shaken her. In the end, all she wanted was to return home, maybe join Kurenai-sensei for tea, then fall asleep. Sleep sounded wonderful.

As soon as their group had packed their things and turned around to leave, Hinata looked back one last time.

“G- Goodbye, Karata-” Her breath caught in her lungs and all thought came to a halt when she saw the girl raise her hands to her forehead, eyes squeezed shut and teeth visibly grinding against each other. Hinata aborted her movement and fully turned to face Sakura-san who paled rapidly and dug her fingers into her temples.

“A- are you alright?” she asked, taking a careful step closer and extending her hand as if to reach out for the other female. Her ears picked up a faint groan accompanied by a pained whine, and so Hinata abandoned all caution, approaching the girl.

“Do you n- need h- help?” A sudden cry startled Hinata, causing her to stumble backwards and watch as Sakura-san fell to her knees, face twisted into an agonised grimace. Hinata stared at her and caught the moment the girl tore her eyes open, wide, bloodshot and- _green_.

It was the last noise she made before she fell over and lost consciousness.

**Dear child... I am so sorry.**

' _Quiet down. You have caused enough damage._ '

**Not happy to see me, I take it.**

' _Not under these circumstances. I did not enjoy being reminded of what happened last time you were in possession of a body and I was asleep._ '

**It is different. I am her and, to an extent, she is I. We are two sides to the same coin.**

' _I wondered, on occasion. She reminds me of you._ '

**Me too.**

When she woke, it was in pain. Blazing agony burning behind her eyes, in her fingertips, her head. She gasped, tried to move but couldn't, was restrained, caught, trapped-

' _Calm, Sakura._ '

Isobu. He was back. He- Iso-

' _Calm. You are safe._ '

Safe? How could she be safe, she was unable to move, someone had strapped her to a bed, she was helpless, alone, _terrified_ -

' _You got injured during your mission. Konoha brought you to its hospital. You're restrained because shinobi who fall unconscious in high stress conditions are twitchy once they wake._ '

Injured? Mission? She- Yes. She had been on a mission. ANBU. Missing chuunin. Konoha team- Hyuuga. Kisame. Then, nothing.

' _We're going to have a long conversation, you and I, about what happened. But not right now. Can you open your eyes?_ '

Eyes. No. They hurt.

' _If you open your eyes you will see the hospital room you are in. It will help._ '

Help? What would help would be an explanation. Medicine. Bloody painkillers. She- Movement. Exercise. _Something_.

' _Quit being difficult. You are in a foreign village that will not tolerate your emotions as much as your Terumi does._ '

Terumi. Mei. Kami, Mei. She wanted Mei. Where- where was she? She needed-

' _The sooner you open your eyes, the sooner you can return home._ '

Within an instant, she forced them open, then hissed at the sudden blinding light threatening to burn her retina. She bit her teeth, chewed on the inside of her cheeks and through sheer will alone ignored the ache. Bit by bit, her surroundings trickled into view as the dark spots clouding her vision receded. White walls, white ceiling, white everything. A smell of antiseptic in the air, a faint hint of blood coming from far away, the busy bustling of people outside. Warm air, dry and sunny. Summer. Konoha.

Sakura. Her name was Sakura, she was sixteen years old and in a hospital in Konoha because her mission had gone wrong. She wasn't sure about the details, but-

She looked down on herself, saw pale and uninjured hands, a hospital gown that did little to hide the muscle in her limbs or the number of scars she had sustained before benefiting from Isobu's healing abilities. There were no bandages, no new scars, not even a remnant of blood anywhere close to her. She was unharmed. If she was unharmed, why was she in a hospital?

' _Something happened to you during your fight with Kisame. Can you remember?_ '

She... yes. Bits and pieces, flashes of blue and red, kami so much _red_ -

' _You fell into a frenzy and partially merged with me. You and Hoshigaki were evenly matched until he managed to surprise you. He forced his sword through your chest._ '

She... could remember that. The pain had been... excruciating. Brute force had caused her skin to burst, tore muscle, smashed her bones until it broke through to the other side all the while sapping her chakra and life force. Sakura thought she was about to die. She thought she... did die. How was she still alive?

' _I used all of my chakra to keep your body alive and heal your injuries. I exhausted myself and fell into a coma._ '

If Isobu had been comatose and Sakura had been on the brink of death, why had Hoshigaki not delivered the killing blow? He seemed unlikely to spare her life or even have second thoughts. He would have ended her, given the chance.

' _...you... did not give him that chance._ '

Sakura frowned at the inflection with which the sanbi had said those words. As if he was unsure of them. Doubtful, maybe? Something was off, so terribly wrong that she could feel it in her bones. And Isobu seemed disinclined to just hand over the answers.

' _You should not be having this conversation with me, but alas the one responsible is currently... unavailable. It is harder to open that particular channel. Impossible, most of the time. Only the unique combination of you standing on the brink of death and myself in a deep sleep made it possible in the first place._ '

Sakura clenched her hands into fists and instinctively fought against the thick bands that strapped her to the bed. There was a problem, somewhere, and instead of just telling her about it, the sanbi kept dancing around the issue at hand. The part of her that told her that she was only angry because deep down she was terrified of losing her mind, one piece at a time, was shut down rapidly and efficiently.

' _It's your sun._ '

Like a thunder strike, she saw the magenta orb in front of her eyes, watched it split into two, drift apart until white grew around them, skin, flesh, lashes. A pair of magenta eyes, shaped like her own but pupil-less and the wrong colour stared back at her and _blinked_. Sakura instantly jerked backwards, as if trying to get away from the imagine and gave a shaky sigh once the image was gone between one second and the next. She valiantly tried to calm her racing heart and let her head fall backwards onto the pillow, suddenly tired and spent.

' _I suspect it has been part of you for a long time. Dormant. Sleeping. The more you meditated, the more you opened your mind. The exercise was meant to ease the sealing, to invite me inside your body. There wasn't supposed to be anything else. When you were sealed, I wasn't the only thing to be absorbed into your body and mind._ '

Sakura didn't know how to cope with shock. She never had. Never really needed to. Genetics, upbringing and personality had moulded her into a person that could take things in stride if one ignored her temper. The tiniest prod could set her off. But it didn't actually touch her. Not like that. Not like _this_. She wasn't sure how long she just laid there, quiet, staring at the ceiling. Perhaps the village was right. Perhaps she truly was a monster.

' _You are an anomaly. Not a monster._ '

His words fell on deaf ears. There was too... much. Too many things going on with her, too much that made her different, wrong and dangerous. To think that all this time she worried about going insane, she had already succumbed to whatever it was that had invited itself inside her own head. And she had let it. Coaxed it inside, even. She should have fought harder, back then on the day of the sealing. Should have made more of an effort to push it away instead of trying to find space for it inside her cavern.

' _If you had managed to rid yourself of it, you would not be alive anymore._ '

Maybe that was the point. Maybe- Sakura sighed quietly and shut her eyes, body going lax. She missed Mei.

' _For better or worse it is a part of you and it looks out for you. It... cares._ '

Kami, she was so tired. This kind of exhaustion was entirely new to her but it made her want to go to sleep forever. Briefly, she wondered where her rage went. And if she could have it back.

' _A medic should come to see you soon. They won't keep you for long... you've been asleep for an entire week. The paperwork, reports and everything is most likely taken care of. You will be able to leave for Kirigakure straight away._ '

Were she in better spirits, Sakura might have been able to appreciate Isobu's efforts to lighten her mood. Instead, she listened to his low and even voice, fully immersed herself in the calm he projected into her mind, leaned against the steady rock he was. Just for now, just for a moment, she didn't want to be herself. Didn't want to have to take care of anything. Part of her wished he was just real enough to touch.

He fell silent, didn't respond to her thoughts and Sakura couldn't find it within herself to be upset with him. He claimed he had exhausted himself. The kind of energy it took to drain him so would take weeks to recover. He was still weak. Isobu deserved to rest a little. So did she. Sakura didn't get much time to merely drift. A few short minutes later, someone knocked on her door and entered without waiting for an answer.

“Ah, Karatachi-san. It's good to see you're finally awake. You suffered from a rather nasty case of chakra exhaustion.” If that was the official story, she could live with it. It sounded much better than 'you passed out because another foreign being has set up shop in your mind'. Sakura didn't turn her head to look at the doctor, taking solace in the knowledge that Konoha had always known her to be unsociable bordering on rude and downright dismissive.

“You were cleared by Tsunade-sama herself and the Mizukage already arranged for your immediate release. You and your teammate may leave as soon as you are discharged from the hospital,” the woman said as she walked closer to the bed and freed Sakura from her restraints. What got her moving was pure habit. Mechanical and efficient. She got to her feet, stretched her limbs, got rid of leftover soreness. Her body was absolutely fine. No trace of the fight with Hoshigaki, nothing hinting at a week-long period of inactivity. Isobu's work, most likely.

The medic made her go through a series of exercises, tested her reflexes, eyesight, brain activity. Sakura did as she was told, when she was told without arguing. It took another thirty minutes before the doctor was satisfied and directed her to the small cabinet that held her possessions. She took one look at the remains of her uniform and mourned for the tears in the fabric. It was the first time she had left the village wearing her clan trappings and now the skirt was damaged beyond repair. To Sakura's gloomy state of mind, it felt like a metaphor for something she couldn't quite discern. Almost like an omen.

Clutching her shawl just a little tighter than necessary, she placed it on her shoulders and stepped into her boots. The body armour was a goner, most likely ruined beyond repair since it had been left behind. She felt oddly naked without it. In the end, it was the lack of mask that hit her the hardest. Right now she'd trade the world for some clay to hide behind.

Once Sakura finished strapping her three blades to her person, she nodded at the medic who had waited patiently. She followed him out of the room and it took all her will power not to lower her head and hide her face to the best of her ability. She was here as representative of a foreign village. She could not afford to appear weak. The woman led her through the halls of the hospital and occasionally, Sakura remembered a particular corner or doorway. Isobu was still silent.

The second, she reached the lobby, Sakura felt him. Her head shot around, instantly landing on the tall male standing in a corner off to the side. She scanned his form, took in pale unblemished skin, long black hair that looked slightly more unkempt than usual and grey eyes that didn't sparkle. There was nothing in his face. No joy, no relief, none of the microscopic emotions she had learned to recognise so easily. He looked at her but to Sakura it seemed as if he looked through her instead.

“Here we go. These are your papers, a copy of the non-invasive procedures form and that's it. You're good to go.” Sakura gave the woman another nod and mumbled a thanks before pocketing both items and practically fleeing from the hospital. She felt her throat close up and fingers spasm but forced herself to keep it together. What little air she got would have to be enough. There was a time and a place. Not now. Not here. Not when Junji refused to even look at her.

“I'm sorry.” The words sounded flat to her own ears and Sakura didn't expect him to react to them. He didn't. She had turned on him, stabbed him in the back, disabled him and removed him from the fight with a jutsu he had personally taught her. He would not be speaking to her again for a very long time. She wondered if he ever would.

With a silence so oppressive it weighed down the air around them, they took off. Quietly, they left the village at a moderate pace as to not spook the local ANBU that followed them until they passed through the gate. After that, the pace Junji set was neck breaking. He was in top condition and much better off than Sakura. She had to rely on Isobu to keep up. Right now, she was just thankful that he didn't complain about it.

They didn't take any breaks. Day and night, they travelled, only marginally slowing down to eat the ration bars Konoha had so graciously provided. Sakura didn't mind. As long as she was running, she could imagine she was running from her own problems and somehow winning. If her eyes strayed to Junji once exactly every five minutes, Isobu didn't remark upon it.

As soon as the walls of Kirigakure entered her sight, Sakura became nearly overwhelmed with relief. She had made it. Made it home, made it back to safety, back to-

Her pace picked up and she ignored everything and everyone on her way to the Mizukage building. It was way past midnight but at the back of her mind, Sakura simply _knew_ that she would still be awake. She refused to even consider the idea that she might not wait for her arrival after receiving news of her departure from Konoha.

So Sakura did the only thing she could and jumped straight through the window. The room was dark and there were no weapons at her throat, but-

She smelled flowers, steel and blood, felt the warmth and chill of her chakra, heard her breath, the beat of her heart-

Sakura lost all composure as she reached for her, shivering and desperate like a woman deprived of air, needy and so, so _weak_ -

“Sakura.”

She choked down the ugly sound that threatened to escape her mouth and instead flung herself at the woman, her light, her safety, her home and buried herself in those warm arms, hid her face the crook of her neck, breathed faintly against soft skin.

Her mission had gone to shit, there was something unknown in her mind, capable of possessing her body; she was a monster, Junji refused to acknowledge her, she felt like she was tearing apart on the inside, kicking and screaming all the way but also so, _so tired_ -

“I'm glad you came back.”

Sakura didn't cry but she clung to Mei all the same, greedily taking everything the woman had to give and making it her own. A hand reached up to gently stroke her hair while another rested on her back, light enough not to be distracting, strong enough to make sure Sakura could never forget that it was there.

She couldn't say any of the words she wanted, needed, to say but knew that the woman heard them anyway. They worked like that. Even if the world around her went up in flames, she could always rely on that. Rely on her.

With that thought in mind, Sakura slowly drifted off into a deep and restful sleep.

' _She's breaking down._ '

**It wasn't supposed to end like this.**

' _But it did. And now she pays the price for it._ '

**I will never apologise for doing what needs to be done.**

' _I heard you say those words before and they didn't work out particularly well for anyone involved._ '

**Mei is different. Mei is strong. There's none of her father's weakness in that girl. She can pick up the pieces.**

' _But should she have to?_ '

**Some tragedies cannot be avoided. Sakura is still alive and that is the only thing that counts.**

' _If she knew who you really are, the burden would be much easier to bear. Her entire life she has longed for you. Missed you, even before she knew who you were. You have always been a comfort to the girl. Why keep the secret now?_ '

**She has to trust in her autonomy and control over her own life. That's what it always boils down to. Control. She will keep chasing it for the rest of her days. Once she learns who I am she will be tempted to rely on me.**

**And if that happens, she will waver.**

**She cannot falter.**

**She's the last hope of our clan and she _has_ to endure.**

**Otherwise, there will be nothing left.**

**Nothing left at all.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who liked Kisame: I'm sorry. Had to happen but still. I'm sorry.
> 
> But also, it's time for some numbers, I think.  
> At the start of story/Sakura's graduation/Yagura's death/Sakura's birth/Mebuki's birth  
> Sakura is 15/13/8/0  
> Mei is 32/30/25/17/1  
> Mebuki is 31/29/24/16/0  
> Junji is 28/26/21/13  
> Yagura is 47/45/40/32/15
> 
> Yagura was sealed when he was 6, became Mizukage at 21, Chigiri started when he was 29 and ended with his death at 40 years of age.  
> Following that, Mei was 9 at graduation during which she had her first frenzy, made chuunin at 10, jounin at 11 and joined ANBU the same year as Yagura's bodyguard until she fled Kiri at 20 to plan the rebellion, 25 when she killed him, was appointed Mizukage at 27 and first met Sakura with 32.  
> Junji graduated at 10, became chuunin at 11 and then joined ANBU where he served as part of Yagura's guard until he made jounin at 13 and joined the hunter-nin. He never left Kiri and later became Mei's most trusted shadow agent while Ao serves as daytime bodyguard.
> 
> If anyone is curious why I made Yagura so old: Kagura is Boruto's age and there had to have been at least one generation between Kagura and Yagura and honestly the entire timeline is screwed up anyway. So he's older here. Otherwise the story wouldn't work no matter how much I try to put the blame on canon inconsistencies. 
> 
> Also, completely unrelated, I can finally reveal that in my notes for the story I always referred to her as Yagusaku.


	9. Act II: Polarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura struggles with her relationships while a storm is brewing and Mei refuses to be the last one to make her move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 60k in I stop dropping hints and finally get started on the main plot of this fic. Yay.
> 
> @Boycottlove: I'm happy to hear you like Junji. OC's are always tricky but with a fic that focuses on a minor village, I was forced to add some people. Junji was designed to be sort of an annoying sprite that sticks close to Sakura because it genuinely likes her. I like him too! :D All in all I'm happy you liked the chapter! The story is about to pick up and focus on all the various hints and threads I developed in the last 60k. I hope you'll continue to enjoy my story!  
> @lunavinne: YaguSaku is my jam, ngl. It's good to know that I nailed the differences between their personalities. It was my goal after all and I'm happy with my characterisation of Yagura. He's a very dignified ball of murder and violence with the appearance of a cinnamon roll. (Also yeah, Tenzo.) And I'm sorry about Junji and it's not a problem that'll fix itself easily. Thanks for (still) reading my fic! Enjoy the next chapter!  
> @Manuela_M: I tried to be very subtle but lol, you called me out. Hinata is definitely on her way to puppy crushing on Sakura. I'm glad the split between Sakura and Junji affected you so; it means I'm doing my job! :) And yes, Inner has her own agenda as an unspecified mixture of Yagura and Sakura. There's a lot going on behind the scenes Sakura doesn't know about but I keep careful track of all my subplots. I hope they're easy to follow. Anyways, I'm glad you liked my chapter. Here's the next one!  
> @sanditide: That's high praise and I'm eternally grateful for your kind words. As for updates, I set myself a strict schedule which means I will update once a week! :) And just between us, I love Yagura and Kiri too. #TeamKiri all the way. Thanks for reading and enjoy this chapter! =)

“I am sorry about Tatsumi."

She hated piercing the silence. She didn't want to be having this conversation, wasn't ready to stop pretending just yet. Mei remained quiet as she slowly chewed on a piece of meat before taking a single sip of umeshu. Sakura looked at her for a few moments, then returned her attention to her own meal. Objectively speaking, the food was delicious. For once not fish from the markets but ordered directly from Kiri's finest restaurant. It tasted like ash in her mouth. Listlessly, she moved the steamed vegetables from one end of her plate to the other, then dropped the chopsticks and gave up on trying to force feed herself. She wasn't hungry.

“Eat.” A small kindle of anger flickered to life deep inside her belly but died as soon as it appeared. It left her feeling empty and wanting. She tried to summon the strength to speak up or start an argument. It was fruitless. She simply didn't have the energy for it. Or anything else.

“I'm not hungry,” she murmured into the emptiness between them. Finally, the other woman raised her eyes to look at her. Hard. Unyielding. A silent order to comply or suffer the consequences. For a single second, Sakura was tempted to rise to the challenge. Start a fight, allow Mei to trash her until Isobu ran out of chakra and couldn't repair her body anymore. She knew that, if tested, the woman would absolutely do that. She had her own fury to battle with and if given half a chance, would readily unleash it against Sakura who could bounce back from injuries most would succumb to instantly. It was so, so tempting and Sakura opened her mouth to say something that would doubtlessly provoke her-

“Don't.” Her mouth fell shut with an audible click and she returned her gaze back to the mostly filled plate of food in front of her. Just like that, Mei had taken all wind out of her sails. Both of them knew better than to start something if the other person's heart wasn't in it. Their bodies would probably survive. Their relationship not so much. And Sakura had already ruined the only other meaningful bond she had. Especially considering that Mei was her be-all and end-all. There was a time where she had been able to exist without her. It seemed so long ago she couldn't even remember how that felt like anymore.

“Sorry.” Considering even for the fraction of a second what a life without her would be like had left her so empty and hopeless that she shuddered. When had she become so dependant on her? Was that how things were supposed to be? It didn't sound healthy, to be so tightly bound to another person. Yet she wasn't exactly normal, was she. She was a curse-bearer in more than just one sense. Sakura, victim to the madness that ran in her blood, slave to the two demons she shared her body with. And when it came down to it, she did not want to be parted from Mei. Not now. Not ever.

Perhaps she was finally beginning to understand the true depths of their clan's connection. Unbidden, a memory entered her thoughts, Isobu's low and somewhat chiding voice telling her that Mei was caught up in Sakura just as much as Sakura was caught up in her. She snuck a single glance at the older woman, observed her as she ate her dinner, radiating an aura of peace and serenity. If she struggled, she never showed it. Maybe that was the difference between one who was raised with the appropriate knowledge and expectations, and one who had been all but thrown into it as a teenager.

“Nothing I could have said would have prepared you for a fully developed bond. It gets easier, in time.” Sakura wanted to ask if she could read her mind, then discarded the idea immediately. She knew better after all.

“I have always known you would be mine. My father groomed me for the role ever since I was a small child. I suppose it would have been your mother, had I met her sooner and had she ever shown the signs.” Keeper, indeed. Sakura looked at her hands and wondered what would have happened to her, had she never left Konoha. Would she have one day lost all control and attacked her fellow shinobi until someone put her down? Hatake would have been the man for the job. The man who _had_ been assigned the job. Konoha had not known her clan name, never learned of the Karatachi curse. But even they saw a disaster waiting to happen. Hatake had never been a good keeper, had never been hers. In some way, Sakura realised, she had been waiting for Mei all her life.

“Tatsumi is not your fault. Kisame has always been a danger but his appearance was... unexpected,” she then said and Sakura tried her best to ignore the grief in Mei's voice. Every single member of her family was precious, now more so than ever with most of them dead and buried in the sea. If nobody had brought him home, Sakura would do it herself.

“It is nothing short of a miracle that you survived. Kisame... has always been the strongest of all of us, second only to myself and Yagura.” Something stirred within Sakura's mind and she recognised the presence as Isobu. He had been silent so far, not spoken a single word since their talk in Konoha's hospital. Not asking for permission, she latched onto the feel of his chakra and pulled it closer, cycling a tiny fragment of his energy through her veins. It was nothing but a fizzle, a sting so subtle she hardly noticed it but she let it cool her down and help her centre herself.

“Truth be told... I did not think you would have been able to kill him. Yet somehow... you did.” There it was, the crux of the matter. Sakura had accomplished something she, by all rights, shouldn't have. And she didn't even know how. Apparently the time to have _that talk_ had come. Sakura merely wished she knew what to say.

“I don't know how I did it.” The words fell from her lips with little to no effort. She had considered lying briefly before discarding the idea immediately. What was the point?

“Isobu and I worked together in the beginning. It put us in a stalemate until I was just a moment too slow.” Once again, she remembered he massive blunt sword pushing through her skin and shredding her insides. Phantom pain raced through her chest and Sakura shuddered.

“He killed me. Or... would have. I don't know what happened after that. Isobu told me but... I'm not sure how to feel about that.” Mei remained silent, content to wait for Sakura to organise her thoughts. She opened her mouth to continue, then changed her mind. She had never told the other woman about the construct hidden inside her head. If it turned out that she had ignored early warning signs, would Mei end up blaming her after all?

“There's a... thing, I never told you about. It didn't seem important, except well... it is,” Sakura stumbled through the sentence like a newborn. Emerald eyes sharpened and she did her best not to meet them and stare at the table instead.

“I used to have flashbacks. Weird dreams. Of... standing on the shore during a nasty storm. The air smelled of lightning and warm summer rain, the ocean itself was wild and rowdy. High up in the air hung a glowing sun. It was magenta.” Sakura folded her hands in her lap as she thought back to the time she had sniffed her grandfather's old garments only to be surprised by the sudden hallucination.

“Sometimes it felt like I heard a voice calling out for me. It was quiet at first but over time became stronger. Things escalated during the day of the sealing. I was meditating until I heard it speak to me, loud and clear. I forgot immediately upon waking up. I... actually just remembered that incident.” Sakura then told her everything. Told her what the voice had promised, words she heard once before the sealing then never recalled again until now. She explained the circumstances surrounding her late awakening after being sealed, how her mindscape had to be rearranged and how she had given the sun its own presence within her mind.

Sakura went through the events that occurred during her fight with Hoshigaki, stated that she had lost until the sun had pulled her inside and consumed her. How she woke up days later in Konoha with the feeling that there were things within her own mind, memories, that she couldn't access. That Isobu reluctantly told her about the sun being its own entity, one that due to his comatose state, had been able to completely take control of her body and mind.

“I have... impulses, sometimes. They never make any sense and I usually forget about them immediately. Like... being oddly pleased when I look in the mirror and see the flower pendant around my neck. Or sudden fury when I think of how the villagers and other shinobi react to me.” Bit by bit, she recalled more and more of these instances. Feeling both guilty and wanting when catching a glimpse of her mother at the markets or inexplicably proud when glancing at the hat on Mei's head.

“Those are my emotions but they don't come _from_ me. Something else triggers them for me.”

Sakura deflated, even emptier than before and allowed her back to rest against the chair, slouching in her seat. Such a posture usually would get her scolded by Mei who had very strict rules concerning dinner etiquette inside the compound. The silence emanating from the older woman was telling enough.

“You should have told me sooner.” Yeah. She probably should have. In fact, Sakura wasn't entirely sure why she hadn't. Part of it could be excused. Knowing that mental health was more of an obscure concept than reality for her had made it easy to dismiss half of these incidents as part of her genetic madness. But by the time the voice began actually making conversation with her, she should have been concerned enough to actually talk to the woman who was the village's foremost expert on her clan.

“To be quite honest with you, I cannot tell you if what you are experiencing is normal or not. My father taught me all he knew yet the specifics of your clan's bloom have always been kept from the Terumi.” Sakura had never been religious but just then she kind of felt like faith had let her down. If Mei didn't know, nobody did. And she was all by herself. There was no family left to ask. Not when she knew more than her civilian mother ever did.

“But you can rely on the sanbi. He's been with your family for generations so if he's concerned about that sun of yours, you should be as well.” What sounded like reasonable advice was infuriatingly complicated due to the turtle being crotchety about the details.

“He's not concerned. Actually, I'm pretty sure he knows more about it than I and simply doesn't want to share. I'm more spooked by the discovery than he is,” Sakura mumbled in response as she recalled his words. _For better or worse_ , he had said. _It cares_.

“Look at me, Sakura-chan.” After exactly three breaths, she complied. Mei's eyes shimmered in the low light of the kitchen, that one particular shade of emerald that never failed to calm or reassure Sakura. It was her favourite colour on the woman, right after the dark clouded green that showed just how close she was to falling into her own delicious rage.

“Between the turtle and myself, we will keep you in line. You meditate and you work hard to control yourself. No matter what happened, at the end of the day you are alive and well. Perhaps just this once it would be wiser not to worry about the specifics.” Sakura's own eyes widened as she listened to Mei.

“Perhaps just this once it's alright for you to live a little.” It was so easy to believe her, Sakura thought. So easy to just accept whatever Mei offered her, surrender to her orders, wishes or suggestions. She did it subconsciously, like following the woman's lead came as natural to her as breathing.

Part of her wondered if she wasn't just a tad too accepting, a little too quick to offer an easy way out. If there was something Mei knew, that Sakura didn't. As she washed the dishes, then joined the older woman in the sitting room to listen to tales of her grandfather and Mei's own youth, the voice that nagged at her not to be so effortlessly fooled was swallowed by memories of days long past.

“I am ever so elated to see you take your training seriously.” If there was one thing – one thing – that managed to shake Sakura from her downtrodden mood, it was Utakata. And not in a good way. Standing next to and looking down on her lying in the dirt, he sneered then turned around with a dismissive huff. Part of Sakura had hoped that the fight with Hoshigaki would have been enough to prove to Mei that she could sufficiently work with Isobu in real combat environments. She had been wrong. Very, _very_ wrong.

“I am going to murder that guy one day,“ she grumbled to herself as she got off the ground, not bothering to dust off her clothes. There was just no point in doing that considering she would find herself back on the ground soon enough. Sakura had learned quickly not to dress in anything that meant something to her. Whenever she left for training with her fellow jinchuuriki she left her clan trappings at home.

' _Question his methods all you like. You cannot deny their effectiveness._ ' No. She could not. And she hated having to admit it. For all his numerous faults, the rokubi container was a veritable fountain of knowledge on the subject of working with one's bijuu. On the other hand, nobody infuriated her quite as much as Utakata did. He had this inherent talent to make Sakura's blood boil with nothing more than a passing glance.

“If you're only going to stand around and waste my time I might as well go home.” Sakura heard herself growl before furiously trying to blink away the red haze that slowly draped itself over her vision. He was doing his very best to provoke her. Everyone with a single eye could see that. She was supposed to be stronger than this. He was nothing more than a bitter, sad man. He wasn't worth her time.

Sakura was just about to roll her shoulders and prepare for another round, when three sharp water needles whizzed past her head only to deeply bury themselves in the trunk of a tree behind her. Her mouth shut itself with an audible click and she whirled around to glower at the blue-robed male. No. Enough was enough.

“What the _fuck_ is your problem?!” She's absolutely fucking had it. Weeks of being belittled, thrown about like a ragdoll, insulted and needled and now she reached her limit. Fuck this guy. She had bigger problems, more important worries, an entire life that was slowly tipping out of balance and who did he think he was to have the right to treat her like this?

Sakura could understand old grievances. Really, she could. It was hard sometimes to look at someone and not blame them for circumstances they had nothing to do with. The small remnants of anger she held towards Mei were the perfect example. The woman had never contributed to Sakura's clan's ruined compound and reputation yet sometimes... it was just unbearable to observe how kind others were to her and how beloved the Mizukage was by the entire village while the same people who smiled at the older woman, sneered at Sakura.

But this... went beyond that. Utakata didn't snap at her occasionally. He consistently, without pause or restraint, showed Sakura just how much he truly hated her. And she was done putting up with it.

“You've been such a fucking asshole ever since we first met! Hell, even before that. I didn't even get to talk to you before you decided I was worth less than the dirt under your feet!” Sakura stalked closer, fearless in the face of his hateful sneer, bristling when her chakra clashed with his.

' _Back down, Sakura._ ' No. Fuck no. This had to end. If it didn't, Sakura would one day snap and nobody would want to live with the potentionally disastrous consequences.

“Aren't you supposed to be a fucking adult?! I'm sixteen! I never even met my own _fucking_ grandfather and you look at me like I personally murdered your entire family!” He didn't stop her, not even when she stepped into his personal space and came close enough to stare directly into his face, only barely reigning herself in. Isobu pressed down on her in warning but she didn't let it deter her. Even in the worst case scenario Utakata would be able to take anything she could dish out and then some. He was one of only two people in Mizu no Kuni who were completely safe from her.

“I get it, okay. You think I'm a monster and that I need to be put down. Well guess what, get in fucking line. Right after every other shinobi in this village,” she made a sweeping gesture before biting the inside of her cheek to ground herself. Power poured from her tenketsu and flooded her system. Only then did Sakura realise just how battle ready she was and how strong Utakata's own aura hung in the air.

“Maybe if you didn't treat me like shit, I wouldn't snap at you like a wounded animal all the time.” Sakura swallowed audibly and pressed a hand to her forehead. She hadn't meant to say those final words. They were too personal. Too revealing.

“I don't even know what he did to you. All I know is I didn't do shit to deserve your fucking attitude.” She couldn't deal with any of this. Not right now.

“I'm done here. Seriously. Screw your lessons,” Sakura mumbled quietly before turning around, holding onto Isobu's chakra and letting it coil itself around her mind. Utakata didn't stop her and she didn't expect him to. If she was already losing those who meant something to her, she might as well cut her losses with those who couldn't care less about what happened to her.

_Dear Karatachi-sama,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. Hokage-sama assured me that you were well within your borders by now and agreed to forward this message to you._

_I apologise if this caused any inconveniences but I fear my ignorance of both Kirigakure no Sato's general village procedures or screening processes as well as lack of knowledge regarding your address, left me with few alternatives. Hokage-sama was positive that the letter would find its way from the Mizukage's desk into your hands._

_I had planned on visiting you at the hospital but the ANBU guard stationed outside of your room was under strict instructions not to let anyone pass. I asked them to deliver the flowers I purchased in my stead and hope you received them. Just in case you didn't, I attached a single pressed bloom to this letter. Yamanaka flowers are loveliest around this time of year._

_You must be curious about my reasons for contacting you. The mission didn't go well after all and we parted under less than desirable circumstances._

_I merely wanted to offer my hand in friendship. We have never been close yet despite the nature of our joined mission I enjoyed your company and wondered if perhaps, you would like to occasionally exchange letters._

_I would be honoured, were you to respond and agree to regular correspondence. Should you wish to decline, it is not necessary to let me know and I will quietly accept your decision and not contact you further._

_In hopes of hearing from you soon,_

_My best wishes,_

_Hyuuga Hinata_

“Made a friend?” Sakura looked up from the beautifully calligraphed letter and focused on Mei who casually leaned against the doorway to Sakura's room. She was wearing a simple dress in the same navy blue as the rest of her wardrobe. Her hair hung loose and slightly damp so Sakura held onto the faint hope that Utakata hadn't come to see her yet.

“Apparently. Not sure how though,” she replied earnestly while trying to figure out what she had done to make the Hyuuga consider friendship between the two of them. It was quite baffling to her actually. Sakura had never been asked to be friends before. It simply wasn't something she... did. The whole friends business. She had Mei and Jun- Mei. The older woman covered most of Sakura's (meagre) desires for interpersonal interaction. And with Isobu she was never truly alone. If she said 'yes' to the Hyuuga which she had no desire to do, then the girl would start having expectations. Sakura didn't particularly feel like having an even bigger weight on her shoulders.

“You should write back.” Mei, obviously, disagreed. Sakura looked at the older woman, trying to figure her out. Kiri was somewhat of an isolationist state with only little trade and a number of immigrants so low it barely existed. Civilians especially were either born on one of the islands or never saw hide nor hair of the village. While every country had its quirks, Kiri always stood apart from the rest for a variety of reasons.

Mei had never encouraged her to make friends, or even develop relationships with other people, much less outsiders. To now openly tell Sakura to enter a long distance friendship on a letter basis seemed out of character.

“You're not a monster, or a weapon, or a machine. Even Kiri's shinobi make room for personal lives. I don't see why you should be any different.” Sakura frowned and slightly tilted her head.

“You're my personal life,” she stated neutrally, not quite comprehending what the Terumi was hinting at. She never had desires for more than what she already had. The older woman was accessible and very pleasant company. They lived in the same house and got along well, matched on a personal as well as professional level. Most of the time Sakura didn't spend training or meditating on her own, she usually found herself in Mei's vicinity. It was a system that just worked. She saw no need to change it.

“I thought that perhaps you might be interested in experiencing a more standard type of relationship. You and I are a rather special and isolated case.” While certainly true, Sakura still doubted the necessity of her suggestion. The Hyuuga had nothing to offer she might need.

“I like you best though,” she admitted with a shrug and returned her attention to the letter. Mei chuckled and without making a sound, approached Sakura in order to place a hand on her shoulder before leaning in and briefly pressing her lips on the top of her crown.

“I know,” the woman murmured as she withdrew, then pointed at the letter.

“I still want you to answer her. If you do, I have another mission for you.” That got Sakura's attention. She perked up, glanced at the letter, then to Mei and finally back at the paper.

“Aren't you going to assign me to the mission anyway?” she asked, seeing a chance to get out of this newly-imposed responsibility only to be shut down immediately. Unfortunately, Mei had lived a longer life than Sakura and was always one step ahead of her.

“No.” Short and not very sweet, it very much got the point across. Before she set to leave, Mei regarded Sakura one last time with raised brows.

“Also, I had a little talk with Utakata. You two will get along or I will put the fear of the tides in you.” Sakura closed her eyes and released a quiet sigh. It had been foolish to hope she'd be rid of that man once and for all. Not above kicking at her chair in frustration, she sat down, picked up a brush and began thinking about her reply.

_Hyuuga-san,_

_I am indeed once again in my village. The journey took little more than eight hours. Mei-sama handed me your letter and it was no trouble. For future reference, you may address your correspondence to the Terumi compound. It is where I live._

_I did not receive your flowers but the dried bloom is acceptable. The green is a nice touch as it is my clan's colour._

_Your offer of friendship is unexpected since, as you already stated, the mission did not go very well and we hardly interacted with one another. I have few memories of my academy days and was never particularly close to either of your current squad mates._

_However in the spirit of our village's continued cooperation, I have decided to accept. I await your next letter._

_Respectfully,_

_Karatachi Sakura, Head of the Kirigakure no Sato Karatachi_

“Rather short and stilted but your lack of formal clan education excuses you.” Sakura stood in front of the Mizukage's desk, uncomfortably stiff and decked out in full combat gear. The entire situation was an unwelcome reminder of her academy days. Written work or politics in general had never been her strong suit, what her fellow students considered 'normal interaction with one's peers' completely unthinkable. Yet Mei's approval took some of the tension from her shoulders.

The reason for most of it however, was the man right next to her. It felt odd to see Utakata without his robe. He had traded the blue garment for a standard Kiri uniform and tied his shiny new headband around his forehead. The short sword attached to his back would most likely not see much use considering his speciality for mid-ranged combat but it was part of regulation nonetheless.

“You two are one of my biggest headaches.” Sakura refused to feel guilty for the state of her relationship with Utakata. The thought of being a burden to Mei tugged at her heart strings so she focused on the briefing instead.

“I can't have both of my jinchuuriki at war with each other. I'm going to assign you a mission which you will complete as two-man cell. When you return, I expect you to get along.” Upon realising that Mei had all but tricked her with the promise of a mission, Sakura bristled and clenched her jaw. Neither Mei nor Utakata would be daunted by a flare of her chakra but Sakura was on shaky ground with the rest of Kiri's shinobi. There was no need to alert any of them to an impending loss of her temper.

“There's more to it than that,” Mei continued, the air around her suddenly heavy and serious which caused Sakura to sober up immediately.

“Someone is targeting us. Chuunin teams get attacked or killed, missions are sabotaged, trade ships get robbed. I don't know who's the perpetrator or what their goal is but I refuse to sit by and watch without preparing for the worst.” Sakura hadn't known how dire the situation truly was. The image of the massacred chuunin flashed in front of her eyes and she growled quietly. Back then she'd been of the opinion that the attacker had meant to make a point by burning the headbands after employing excessive violence. She'd been right. Memories of off-handed remarks from Junji, reports of plundered or outright sunken merchant ships on Mei's desk and the unusual spike in activity around the hospital entered her mind. The combination of seemingly unconnected incidents painted a grim picture.

“I want you to retrieve Kubikiribōchō. I'm going to mobilise the Seven Swordsmen.” The only noise piercing the following silence, was Sakura drawing a sharp breath. The Seven were an integral part of Kiri's armed forces. More than just excellent shinobi in their own right, they each commanded one of the seven army divisions. If Mei was looking into retrieving as many of the swords as possible, she was preparing for war.

“I have other teams searching for the other four blades but Sakura knows where Zabuza's grave is located. Since the mission that led to its recovery falls under Konoha's jurisdiction, I let them know of my plans. I haven't fully crossed them off the list of possible suspects so I neither asked for permission nor aid. As a result, be wary of possible interference. If the sword isn't there anymore or you spot Konoha nin close to its location, grab the thing and make a quick exit.” Sensible. Even if the decision not to barter for the blade meant subtly snubbing the Hokage. Then again, in the end it was Kiri's property and the retrieval in itself innocent enough to not raise any major red flags. Eventually, Mei would have sent someone to bring it back home either way.

“Sending the two of you means I'm placing an incredibly dangerous shogi piece on the board. I'm letting the rest of the Elemental Nations know that both of my village's bijuu are back under my command and that I am confident enough to send you two on missions. While only few would be foolhardy enough to attack you, I am confident that you will be watched. For that reason, you will not cloak your chakra. Let the Konoha patrols know you are there.” Which implied Mei meant for them to take the land route instead of travelling most of the distance by crossing the ocean. Probably a direct route to the shores of Fire, then moving a short distance inland and running the rest of the way to Wave through the forests instead of sticking close to the shore. A slight detour for sure although it shouldn't amount to more than one or two hours max.

“I don't like using you as bait but I am confident that you're up to the task. Utakata will lead your team.” Sakura's mood soured instantly and she made a valiant effort not to glare at Mei. She couldn't expect personal bias after all. Not when Utakata was her superior in both years and experience. Not to mention he'd been a jounin for much longer than Sakura. She'd just have to suck it up and accept her Mizukage's decision.

“You'll leave tomorrow at dawn so your tempers have a few hours to cool off. I meant what I said earlier. You will find a way to be cordial to each other or I will make your lives miserable.” That was not an empty threat and Sakura was wise enough to fear Mei's temper. She never lost it but Sakura had seen the glint in her darkening eyes more than once, a sight that heralded the possibility of a storm only few could weather. Usually the prospect was exciting, almost delicious to the point where Sakura found herself wanting for a gap in Mei's iron hard discipline. Not this time. If anyone could reduce her to absolute misery, it was the one person closest to her.

“Dismissed.” And that was that. Sakura gave a sharp nod and turned around, only to momentarily be held back by Mei's voice.

“Oh, and Sakura-chan. He's on training ground four.”

She meant to go and see him. She truly did. But just as Sakura was about to walk through the gate that led to said training ground, she remembered the emptiness of his eyes, the blankness of his face and the utter coldness of his behaviour. She was a filthy coward, Sakura told herself before turning on her heel and running back to the village. As highly skilled sensor, Junji must have noticed her presence and part of Sakura hoped that the meagre effort was enough to soften him towards her. If it wasn't, she had no idea how to fix what she'd broken. The prospect of never having his hands in her hair again bothered her more than she thought it would.

Feeling too drained to train herself, Sakura found herself aimlessly wandering around the village. Always sticking to the shadows, she avoided the watchful gazes of civilians even if her fellow shinobi still followed her every movement. Not on Mei's orders, that was for sure but the older woman hadn't explicitly forbidden it either. She couldn't, not really. The council would make her life hell and Sakura didn't want that.

In the end, the decision to go see her parents was one she made on a whim. It had been ages since she last saw them or, to be more accurate, rapidly approaching the two month mark. Sakura wasn't sure what they were up to nowadays, only that her mother quit her employment a few weeks ago to stay at home and prepare their apartment for their unborn child. The only interaction she had with them was via the paychecks she sent their way. Mei provided for her with a home, food and ninja supplies. Sakura, being naturally frugal didn't want for much else so the majority of her earnings went to her parents.

According to Mei who didn't approve of Sakura's decision to no longer openly associate with her family, her efforts had borne fruit nevertheless. Civilians were still somewhat wary of Haruno Mebuki yet no longer actively shunned or avoided her. They had reached a tentative understanding mostly due to the woman's civilian status and Sakura was not about to ruin that with her continued presence.

She still missed them. So instead of finishing her third lap around the village, Sakura took a sudden right and jumped onto the roofs, making her way to one of the poorer civilian living areas. The closer she got to her parents' home, the stronger became the smell of steamed vegetables, grilled eel and ginger flavoured rice. Her favourite dish. Sakura's stomach growled and she remembered that she had skipped breakfast earlier that day. Hopefully her mother wouldn't mind the intrusion.

“Stop lingering on the window sill and come inside.”

Her mother _had_ always been able to spot her, no matter how well she hid herself. Awkwardly climbing through the small window, Sakura quietly landed on the pristine kitchen floor, careful not to dirty the white tiles.

“Are you staying for dinner?” Mebuki asked and Sakura nodded mutely. The apartment itself hadn't changed much although a quick glance into the hallway showed her that her old room had been remodelled. She was willing to bet that there was a crib in there somewhere and most likely her old seashell mobile. Good. This was what Sakura wanted for her parents.

“Go on, then. Set the table.” Carefully moving around her mother's already visible bump, she grabbed plates and cutlery, arranging them neatly on top of a white tablecloth.

“Is your Terumi treating you well?” Not 'Mizukage'. Not even 'Terumi-sama'. Just 'your Terumi'. Sakura wondered what her mother would say if she knew that she had chosen the same term for Sakura's keeper as Isobu.

“Yes,” she said, then paused briefly while pouring sweet juice into her mother's glass.

“She's good to me.” Better than I deserve, went unsaid.

“Good. She'd be in trouble if she wasn't.” That coaxed a small smile from Sakura who imagined her pregnant mother climbing the stairs leading to the Mizukage building only to give Mei a piece of her mind. Mebuki had always been fiercely protective of what she considered hers. None of her father's training or madness but all of his love and temper. It made for a fearsome woman, civilian or not.

“That Utakata character still giving you trouble?” Sakura didn't have to ask how the hell her mother was even aware of her problematic relationship with the other jinchuuriki. The woman elaborated just a second later as she filled their plates with deliciously smelling food.

“Your friend, the pretty one with the long hair told me about it a few days ago. He helps me with my groceries sometimes.” Her words hit Sakura like a punch to the gut. She'd never known that Junji went out of his way to aid her mother which...

He just... didn't seem the type. Her mood soured instantly and instead of digging into her food, she listlessly moved it around on her plate.

“He's not talking to me anymore.” Sakura didn't know what made her confess to her mother like that but now it was too late to turn back.

“We were fighting a missing-nin who was after me. I merged with the sanbi before letting go of my rage. I didn't want him to get hurt. So I knocked him out.” And thus, betrayed his trust. There was nothing worse than stabbing a fellow team mate in the back. No matter how convinced Sakura was that she had saved his life. Being ignored by Junji felt much worse than she ever thought it would. Accidentally killing him would have left a mark that would never fade for as long as Sakura was alive. So she had made her choice. It didn't mean she had to like the consequences.

“He's a nice fellow, that one. You don't have many friends, Sakura. Go to that boy and apologise.” Sakura wisely didn't point out that he was almost the same age as Mebuki and stuffed a piece of eel into her mouth. Absolutely delicious. Perhaps she was once again taking the easy way out but Sakura focused on the meal in front of her, letting her silence speak for itself. She didn't know the first thing about apologising or mending friendships. Part of her still hoped that Junji would come after her like he always did. He was good at chasing. The only thing Sakura did well was _being_ chased.

The rest of their dinner passed in silence. Sakura's father never showed; apparently the blacksmith he was working for was swamped with work and Sakura wondered if that was Mei already taking the initiative by sanctioning private, non-essential orders in favour of mass producing weapons and other standard shinobi tools.

“Father used to be a ninja before you fled Kiri, right?” Sakura asked, squatting on the window sill with one foot already out in the open air.

“He was promoted to chuunin just weeks before our departure, yes,” Mebuki affirmed and Sakura paused briefly, choosing her next words carefully.

“He needs to get injured. Tell him to break a leg and make sure it never heals properly.” Her mother's eyes were sharp and inquisitive as they rested on Sakura's back, boring a hole through her body.

“Is there something you know then?” she asked and Sakura gave a single hum. She wasn't sure how many laws she just broke but was fully aware that Mei could never find out.

“Just a whisper. Make sure he can't come with them when they show up on your doorstep.” With those parting words, she leapt through the window and into the night, leaving behind just a single shadow that crouched on top of the building's roof, long straight hair fluttering in the wind.

The next morning came way to soon for Sakura's liking. Not even the thrill of a mission could make up for the company that was assigned to her. Still, she would heed Mei's warning. She owed her that much. Not to mention that Utakata and her truly ought to work together. When fighting each other they were capable of great amounts of destruction. Should they ever team up properly... well, that would be just the kind of offence Kiri would potentially need sooner rather than later. Sakura understood this. She hoped so did he.

Just when the sky began to lighten gradually, black giving way to a mixture of purple and orange, Sakura's feet touched down on the top of Kiri's main gate. Utakata was already present, clad in the same regulation outfit as yesterday minus the optional leg warmers. He mustered her from top to bottom and Sakura took his silence as sign that she passed his inspection. His dark eyes lingered on her clan trapping for a single breath, mouth closed but with a subtle downward turn. Upon noticing his muted displeasure, she reminded herself of the fact that they didn't need to be friends. They just had to work together.

“Will you require a break before reaching the main land?” Sakura blinked in surprise. His tone was only half as frigid as usual. Apparently the rokubi container was willing to make an effort after all. Taking the olive branch for what it was, Sakura jerked her head to the side and followed up with a simple 'no'. If the current mood persisted, they might be able to reach a tentative sort of peace by the end of the mission. More than anything, Sakura felt relieved. The thought of having to disappoint Mei troubled her deeply.

Without wasting any more time, their two-man cell set off. By now Sakura was used to Isobu's massive chakra reserves and made liberal use of them as she raced across the mostly calm ocean. Utakata and her were still connected via rope wire but the precaution proved to be unnecessary. Not once did she stumble or go under. Neither did he although that had been expected.

The sun was high up in the sky and burning down on them by the time the team reached the shores of Hills. Neither she nor Utakata were out of breath so after devouring one ration bar each, they once again went on their way. Their journey was spent in utter silence, a strained yet neutral atmosphere. The usual aggression and distaste that accompanied their every interaction didn't surface once and Sakura was glad for it. Unfortunately the lack of conversation meant she had plenty of time to worry over the future.

Mei was preparing for a war. She had all but revealed the true motives behind her interest in reacquiring the seven swords. There was an enemy, identity yet unknown, motives mysterious, execution brutal and swift. Someone out there was actively moving against Kirigakure and Mei was expecting the worst. Sakura herself wasn't sure what to make of the situation. If the older woman had already begun gathering supplies and establishing a steady chain of command as well as drafting the local blacksmith into mass producing weaponry... Mei wouldn't do any of that on a mere whim. There had to be more it than what little she had told Utakata and her during their mission briefing. Perhaps that was what had caused Sakura to warn her family, thus directly violating her Mizukage's trust. The betrayal stung but not as much as leaving her family in the dark would have. There was no doubt her father would have been recalled as active duty shinobi. With Kagura on the way that simply couldn't happen. She refused to let her younger brother grow up with just one parent and an absent pariah as his only family.

“There's an ANBU patrol three miles to the North. We will enter their sensory range.” Utakata's words tore Sakura from her thoughts. She gave a sharp nod and followed the older man into the forest. Hills already laid behind them. They must have crossed into Fire a short while ago without Sakura noticing.

' _Focus. The patrol is two men stronger than usual._ ' Sakura's senses sharpened at Isobu's comment. She herself was no sensor, not like all bijuu were. Fortunately the sanbi was cooperative enough to share the results of his abilities with her.

“Konoha reinforced its border patrols,” she mentioned quietly as she followed Utakata, staying close to the ground and just barely off the road. They were here to be seen. This entire mission was as much about recovery as it was about making a point. A show of strength. A quiet challenge. For if the Mizukage had both her bijuu sealed inside jinchuuriki who followed her every command, who knew what else she was hiding? Konoha might not have been confirmed as the perpetrator yet but they were the only existing lead. Mei was politically savvy enough to weasel her way out of any potential missteps in case the Leaf wasn't involved in the affair. Yet on the off-chance that they were... the sanbi and rokubi were a rather effective hint.

“You will sign the standard codes for 'passing through' and 'Wave',” Utakata said to which Sakura nodded.

“In their ANBU code.” She couldn't help drawing a sharp breath in surprise. The man was not looking to simply announce their presence. He meant to deliver his message with a hammer and a rusty nail. Sakura's status as former Konoha ANBU operative was a thorn in their side. Rubbing salt in the wound would provoke a far less benign reaction than their already passive aggressive presence.

“Say again?” This was no harmless order. That was the order of a man who had to know the consequences of his actions. If Sakura flaunted her knowledge of Konoha's inner workings and ANBU ranks, there'd be more than just a strongly worded letter from the Hokage to the Mizukage.

“Affirmative.” Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. He was her taichou on this mission, for better or worse. Mei had to have briefed him separately. She _had_ to. Sakura closed her eyes, counted to three, then got her head back in the game. They were meant to work together. She had to trust Utakata on this.

The second the ANBU patrol noticed them, they changed course to intercept them. In a completely friendly and nonthreatening manner of course. Just a quick confirmation of their identities and motives. As it was, the two groups, one much larger than the other, travelled parallel to each other. With one final glance, Utakata silently confirmed his order once more and so it was that Sakura, for the first time since leaving her wolverine mask behind, shaped her fingers into Konoha-exclusive signs.

The effects of her deliberate mockery were instantaneous. The air between them suddenly bristled as chakra signatures roiled and teeth were bared. Isobu pushed against her mind, successfully helping Sakura remain calm. She and Utakata had to be completely unfazed. Nobody wanted an open confrontation. Not here, not now. The actual conflict would occur much later in the form of letters and correspondence.

'Identification,' the monkey-shaped mask leading the ANBU demanded, hands twitchy and agitated. Utakata didn't even deign to look at the Konoha nin. Sakura knew what she had to do.

'Sanbi,' she signed and pointed at herself. Then:

'Rokubi.'

Formerly oppressive chakra flares that bordered on aggressive, now faded and flittered with thickly veiled uncertainty. Without Isobu Sakura never would've recognised the difference. Apprehension hung heavy in the air, sowing momentary unrest within the ranks until Monkey caught himself and wordlessly inspired his fellow ANBU to bounce back.

Sakura wished she had her own mask to hide her face. Portraying the very image of calm and indifference was a nigh impossible task for one so controlled by their emotions.

'Escort to Wave.' She should've known they wouldn't just let them go. Sakura glanced at Utakata who showed no signs of being displeased by their newly acquired escort through Hi no Kuni. It was impossible to tell whether that had been part of his plan or not but once again she told herself to just follow his orders. He was her taichou. This was as much of a trust building exercise as it was an actual mission. Taking a deep breath, Sakura surrendered to her fate and signed, still in Konoha code:

'Understood.'

' _One of them feels familiar._ ' Sakura surreptitiously glanced at the six man ANBU team, cataloguing their masks. Monkey, Hyena, Owl, Snake, Mouse-

Bear. With narrowed eyes she observed the way Bear moved, held himself and recognised the rather particular way the man had tied his weapons pouch to his thigh. As if entirely aware of Sakura's gaze, Bear turned his head ever so slightly to stare at her. She wasn't sure if what she felt was regret but there was... something. They used to be comrades, not so long ago. Now they were on either side of an invisible fence.

' _He was present on the day you fought Hoshigaki._ ' Sakura's memories of the day were foggy at best, outright missing at worst.

“How do you know. Weren't you asleep?” she murmured quietly, shaking her head when Utakata raised a brow. He didn't say anything but his quiet acceptance was enough. If anyone knew what it was like to talk to a voice inside one's head, it was a fellow jinchuuriki.

' _He arrived earlier than the others. I remember him because you didn't perceive him as a threat. Your subconscious registered him as an ally._ ' In all fairness, Sakura had spent almost two years fighting alongside Bear. While Hatake and her had always had a rather strenuous relationship and Tiger was as naturally cagey as Sakura herself, Bear had been unnaturally easy-going, especially for an ANBU agent. The man had always respected her boundaries and at times coddled her a little too much due to her young age. But he'd also always had her back. Without question or exception. A deeply loyal man. It was a shame she had to antagonise him now.

The tension between the two groups was palpable as they raced through the forests of Fire. Utakata set an unforgiving pace that just about bordered on provocative. He had no intention of trying to shake the ANBU but clearly pushed them to their limits. No matter how elite their agents, the Konoha shinobi were still just that. None of them were able to match a jinchuuriki's sheer stamina. Not that they'd ever consider signalling for a break. In this pissing contest Sakura was certain Konoha wouldn't even think of going down easily.

After two hours of uninterrupted travel, Utakata stopped. He left communicating with the ANBU to Sakura who merely raised her flat palm in the universal gesture for 'halt'.

“I smell blood.” The simple admission immediately had Sakura on full alert. She tapped into her connection with Isobu to draw upon his chakra and enhance her sense of smell. Utakata was right. A thick cloud of iron drifted through the woods to their left, just a little under a mile away. Usually such a case wouldn't be their responsibility. She glanced at Utakata's subtly tightened facial expression and wondered if she wasn't the only one who associated the smell of blood in Fire with their slaughtered comrades.

“We're taking a detour.” The rokubi container darted off before the ANBU had a chance to protest, Sakura hot on his heels. Their mission wasn't time sensitive. Possibly dying chuunin were.

“Resume your journey immediately.” Sakura didn't listen to Monkey who had caught up to them and was currently running alongside her. When it came down to it they didn't stand a chance against two jinchuuriki with full control over their bijuu. Fuck the political fallout. If Mei were here she'd be doing the exact same thing.

“Your forest has become a graveyard for our people. We will not comply.” A sudden spike of appreciation for the man that had made it his mission to make her life hell nearly disrupted all of Sakura's focus. Never had she felt more in tune with Utakata than now. At last, they were on the same wavelength if only temporarily.

“Careful what you imply,” Monkey growled in warning. Sakura, who had faced infinitely more terrible beings than a mask, wasn't fazed. Neither was Utakata.

“You are welcome to join us,” he replied just as he dropped out of the trees and hit the ground running. Sakura stuck close to her fellow jinchuuriki all the while completely ignoring the ANBU squad and their increasingly frequent chakra flares. Each time her feet touched grass, the smell intensified and Sakura wished she knew more about Kiri's current operations in Hi no Kuni. Were there any teams currently MIA? Anyone that failed to report in? Mei had already limited her movements in Fire and ordered teams to either take the ocean route or always stay on the other side of the border.

There was no guarantee they would find one of their own at the end of this bloody rainbow. None at all.

Sakura's hopes were shattered instantly and brutally just seconds later. The sight that greeted her was familiar in some ways, a novelty in others. Brutalised bodies and scorched Kiri headbands were familiar.

Actual perpetrators were not.

Sakura didn't waste any time thinking before throwing herself at the small group of three unknown shinobi. Utakata was right beside her, already summoning his signature soap bubbles which descended upon the trio in a frenzy. Their eyes widened at the unexpected disruption and one of them was just a moment too slow to deflect a swipe from Sakura's katana. His head was liberated from his shoulders in a red spray that joined already browning blood stains on the grass.

“Leave the last one alive,” Utakata ordered from where he was currently busy keeping the only female's body suspended in a bubble which pressed down on her until she caved under the pressure. Bones shattered, organs were squished like ripe fruit and soon there was nothing left but a crimson mass of blood and gore. He could be just as cruel as his brethren when he wanted to.

Sakura, who had a hard time controlling her budding rage, acted just a second too late. Before she could even advance toward the final redhead, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“This is your chance to convince us that it was your negligence that caused these chuunin's deaths and not willful ignorance,” Utakata demanded icily as he approached Monkey, uniform pristine and clean unlike Sakura's stained body armour.

“Watch yourself,” Monkey grunted as his chakra roiled, just inches away from clashing with Utakata's aura of soap and fresh water. Sakura was the only one to notice the subtle slimy feel for what it was. The rokubi container's control over his bijuu was unparalleled. If he was already drawing upon Saiken's chakra, he was ready to fight. There was no possible way Mei had given blanket permission to pick fights with Konoha so she interfered.

“Mizukage-sama will be displeased to hear that her ally allows these attacks to continue whilst attempting to interfere with an impromptu rescue mission.” Spending so much time around Mei had taught her one or two things about politics. Sakura had zero interest in diplomacy but took careful note of the threats the older woman dished out on a regular basis.

It would be easy enough for the ANBU to claim that they weren't involved with these foreign shinobi so Sakura didn't stick around to listen to Monkey's reply. Instead, she moved towards the corpses and began sealing the former Kiri soldiers. One man and one woman, both still young and likely only a few years older than Sakura. Their bodies were an ugly sight but the sea didn't care for such matters. She would bring them home nonetheless.

She just finished sealing the second corpse when Utakata joined her. Half of the ANBU signatures had disappeared, no doubt to report back to the Hokage. Monkey, Hyena and Bear remained.

“That was a very specific shade of red hair,” Utakata spoke slowly, eyes still narrowed at the spot where the last survivor had stood just seconds before. Now that the smoke cleared, Sakura could see the faint outline of a sealing array burned into the green grass.

“The kind of red that has sworn a vendetta against Kirigakure.” Sakura observed the remnants of the fuinjutsu in front of her and wrinkled her nose at the smell of fire and sulfur. Deep within the depths of her very being, a warm presence rose from its slumber.

“The kind of red that belongs to the people of Uzushio.”

A primal growl rose from her throat, unbidden and entirely uncontrolled as the third presence in her mind expanded, sending its foreign chakra and warmth into every last cell of her body.

**U.**

**Zu.**

**Ma.**

**Ki**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how many of you remember the first part of the series but Bear is mentioned briefly. Also, just between us, Bear is Genma.
> 
> I probably sound silly but I'm so hyped with every chapter I release. I can't wait to be done and have the whole story written and released. I sincerely thank everyone who reads and enjoys this fic!  
> If you do, feel free to let me know and share your thoughts. Comments literally give me life.
> 
> See y'all next week! <3
> 
> (Multiple chapters of We Damned Few inc.)


	10. Act II: Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura oversteps her boundaries and Mei has to pick up the pieces as they keep marching towards the battlefield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me so much trouble, it's not even funny. Enjoy!
> 
> @Banoffee: Hinata is basically Sakura's glimpse into normal and healthy relationships. And yeah, Uzumaki. Lots and lots of Uzumaki.  
> @Manuela_M: Damn right they were pen pals! Even though Sakura doesn't know how to write a letter. Or what a pal is.  
> @3BlindCats: Karin will be there though perhaps not the way you think.  
> @Fangirl1356: Did somebody say Junji? And since the Uzumaki/Uzushio people in general are the main antagonists in this fic, their background will be explained bit by bit as the story progresses. I'm happy I got you excited though!  
> @Boycottlove: I'm glad you enjoy my fic so much and that it's suitable post-work entertainment! :) Also, you think you're excited? I'M excited! Seriously though, thanks for reading and commenting <3  
> @Gwringo: I'm happy you like the characters and relationships since they really do make up a huge part of the fic itself. Sometimes I worry I put too much emphasis on them, but well, they're the backbone of this story. And your English is fine! Thanks for reading and leaving such a nice comment! :)

“You have to tell Mei-sama.” Utakata's head snapped to the left, eyes narrowed at Sakura and she got the distinct impression that she was setting herself up for an argument.

“I know where the grave is, I can't do it. She has to know,” Sakura insisted, glanced at Monkey, then walked a few steps away from the Konoha nin and huddled close to Utakata. The air around them still stank of fire and brimstone. Whatever sealing array the Uzushio-nin had used to disappear into smoke was nothing if not persistent in its aftereffects.

“I'm familiar with how Konoha operates. If I have to, I can run circles around them, get the damn sword and run off before they can even try to stop me.” And wasn't that just the truth. There was no chance Konoha had changed its protocols and standard response to various situations in the year after Sakura's transfer. She still knew more than she should. It made her the most suitable candidate for dealing with those ANBU.

“Are you truly that reckless? We know nothing about the situation, their numbers or movements. You're too tempting a target to just casually wander around Hi no Kuni on your own.” If she didn't know better she'd almost accuse him of caring. Instead, she shook her head and gestured towards the two corpses a few feet to their right.

“Mei prepares to move against Konoha,” Sakura whispered so lowly that nobody but a fellow jinchuuriki would be able to pick up the rumble that came from the depths of her throat. Even Utakata would have to strain his hearing to understand her. The animalistic nature of bijuu was helpful in more than just one way.

“We ruffled enough feathers. She needs the extra hours to appease the Hokage before the council forces Senju's hand.” She had plenty of experiences with the aged trio in the past. None of them had ever approved of Sakura's ANBU status and she had the faint suspicion that most of their dislike stemmed from her Kiri heritage which had always been an open secret. They would not hesitate to push for swift retaliation. Mei _had_ to have the Hokage's ear before that could happen.

“You spent some time around her, that much is obvious.” Utakara's tone was too neutral for Sakura to discern whether he meant it to compliment or insult her but if it meant he was coming around, she'd take it.

“We have no reason to believe Konoha is uninvolved. The attacks do primarily occur within Fire's borders. Their bond with Uzushio runs strong and deep.” Sakura paused and averted her eyes. He had a point. She hadn't considered the possibility of the two nations working together. Reduced to rubble and ash as Uzushio was, they would need a second party to support them and their plans. Whatever they were. If the remnants of Whirlpool meant to start a shadow war with Kiri they had to get the required confidence from somewhere. An old ally would certainly boost their morale.

“You trained me. You know best whether I'm up to the task, taichou.” It physically pained Sakura to say these words even if they were nothing but the truth. As much as Utakata hated her, he had a unique insight into her actual combat abilities. And if all else failed... Sakura thought of magenta suns and a primal timeless fury and shuddered. She still had a final ace hidden up her sleeve.

Utakata looked at her, stared into her eyes and very soul before giving a visibly unhappy nod. Then:  
“Go.”

Sakura let out a satisfied growl and without further consideration for her unwilling escort, whirled around and bolted. Every fibre of her being longed to return to Kiri and stay close to Mei to shield her from the coming storm. She would complete her objective in record time, come hell or high water. The sea have mercy of anyone who dared to stand in her way.

She thought of home, the ocean, Mei, Junji, her parents, _Kagura-_

And ran even faster.

She had expected Monkey or Hyena to dog her heels. One had the makings of a tracker, the other a slight body built for pure speed. Neither of them was currently making a valiant effort to keep up with her.

Bear stood no chance but Isobu kept careful track of his movements anyway. Sakura had fully expected to lose him once and for all upon crossing the border and setting foot into Wave. Except he was still around, roughly two minutes behind her, following her across the invisible border. Now that there was no point in posturing anymore, Sakura abandoned the land route and cut a sharp left, trading solid ground for waves and tides.

This was what finally rid her of her pursuer. Konoha-nin, not even their ANBU, ever learned how to traverse the open sea for prolonged periods of time. Yet Sakura was under no illusion that he'd be gone forever. All she had to do was beat him to Zabuza's grave. Once the sword was in her possession, no one could stop her from returning to Kiri via ocean travel.

Resolve combined with the sheer urgency she felt in her very bones quickened Sakura's pace one last time until Isobu had nothing left to give. Going as fast as she was able, it took Sakura barely any time at all to finally reach the shores of Wave. With a chakra enhanced jump, she launched herself upwards and onto the bridge Tazuna had, years ago, named after her former team mate. The construct still looked very much the same even if her sudden arrival spooked the civilians and merchants going about their business.

If she concentrated hard enough, she could still see the pool of blood where Zabuza and Haku had found their eternal rest. Back then Sakura hadn't protested when Hatake decided to bury them on land. She should have known better and quietly apologised to her dead brothers whom she never truly got to meet. Retrieving Kubikiribōchō and placing it in the hands of Mei so she could initiate another into the ranks of the Seven would have to be penance enough.

Even three years later she had not forgotten their refusal to properly engage her, who had from the start, been the most vicious of Konoha's Team 7. One mere glance had sufficed and Zabuza had seen her heritage and respected it. Sakura vowed to never forget him or his disciple.

' _You are not alone._ '

Isobu's comment felt like being doused with a cold bucket of water. It couldn't be Bear. He would take at least another ten minutes to come even close to the bridge. Sakura growled as she closed her eyes and extended her senses, momentarily perching on top one of the steel beams. Whoever waited for her had to be from Konoha. There was no way those Uzushio-nin knew of their plans. Unless-

No. She didn't _like_ Utakata but there was a massive difference between being an asshole and committing honest to kami treason. Sakura refused to believe he had it in him. The rokubi container may hold a grudge the size of Mizu no Kuni but even Hoshigaki never stopped being loyal to his home.

Deciding that approaching the possible danger head-on, Sakura dropped from the beam and quietly landed on top of the water below her. According to Isobu the three signatures hadn't moved or changed. Whoever was waiting for her didn't even attempt to hide their signatures. The possibility of a passive aggressive Konoha welcoming squad became more likely by the minute.

Still, it was best to err on the side of caution so Sakura used a quick genjutsu to hide her from sight before drawing her signature close to her body. A sensor would already know of her presence but the entire point was to sneak up on them in order to assess the situation. Sakura rarely employed stealth, being very much a stereotypical heavy hitter yet her aspirations for the hunter-nin had resulted in her picking up a variety of techniques.

' _They lost you._ ' Good. If Isobu already sensed their confusion, she had a clear advantage. Crawling towards the shore, Sakura crouched down low to keep the subtle distortion that accompanied cloaking genjutsu to a minimum. The grave was close and after a few more steps, Sakura picked up their smells. And cursed.

Dog, Fox, and one who smelled both like ink and nothing at all. That last one was by far the most disturbing, like a black void where there should be colour instead. Something was profoundly wrong with the male and Sakura automatically bared her teeth. What was it that Mei liked to say? No time like the present to reunite with old friends.

She was just about to stand up straight, cancel the genjutsu and approach her former team when Bear crossed into her range of awareness. Perhaps there was value in waiting just a little longer.

“Where is she?” Bear asked and Sakura narrowed her eyes. How-

' _You are little more than a fly to them. You have always tasted like the sea herself. These forest dwellers cannot tell the difference._ ' Quietly thanking Isobu for the explanation, Sakura casually made her way further inland until she came to a stop behind one of the few trees littering this part of the island. From this position she had a clear view on the four Leaf shinobi gathering around Zabuza's grave. Kubikiribōchō still marked the now grassy location, prompting Sakura to breathe a single sigh in relief. Circumstances be damned, the sword was still there.

“If you were after her, she has to be around, most likely watching us. Hokage-sama warned us about possible tensions between her and our team. She never was the most companionable of persons.” Sakura couldn't help but bristle slightly at Hatake's statement. It wasn't that he was wrong, more that he had never tried to make her feel particularly welcome back when she was still his student. Always kept her at arms length, never turned his back to her. Sakura growled and belatedly realised she had begun leaking a small measure of killing intent. Three heads turned towards her, while the fourth remained visibly unimpressed.

“Greetings, Karatachi-san,” the wrongness spoke up. Sakura looked at the boy her age, then tried not to flinch at the jarring image he presented. Fake from top to bottom, insides hidden inside a carefully crafted exterior that positively reeked of deception and foreign interference. He immediately disgusted her. Isobu shared the sentiment.

“I'm on a mission. Get out of my way.” The boy unsettled her and she felt the sudden urge to get away from him. Combined, these factors didn't improve Sakura's rapidly worsening disposition.

“I think I liked you better last time we talked.” Hatake had to refer to the incident with Hoshigaki, Sakura couldn't remember for the life of her. None of that mattered in light of the man's blatant antagonism. She might not have given him much reason to be polite towards her but with her temper rising and Isobu being almost as irritated as she was, rationality was a lost cause.

“Move before I make you.” Fuck diplomacy. Sakura's hand already rested on the handle of her katana, not even for a second wondering if she could honestly take on the copy-nin without being disturbed by the kyuubi container. From what she recalled, the blonde boy wouldn't hesitate to interfere.

' _Kurama always did appreciate a good fight. He won't pull his punches for any sibling of his._ ' How reassuring. Sakura wondered whose idea it was to assign the least reasonable bijuu to a boy with a total lack of self control.

' _Not every village seals bijuu for the benefit of the container. Kiri needs me to shackle you, while Konoha requires an inherently good character to combat Kurama's will to search and destroy._ ' Any other time Sakura would have been able to appreciate the irony of their respective situations. Not in Wave, on a crucial mission, moments away from attempting to brute force her way past her former comrades. War already loomed on the horizon and she didn't have to be the one to start another one. Suddenly, Sakura wished she and Utakata hadn't split up after all. He would've driven a wedge between her actions and her desires.

Yet he wasn't around. It was only her and Isobu, along with a deep pink sphere that positively vibrated with excitement.

“Stay your hand. We are only here to negotiate the release of Kubikiribōchō into your custody.” Sakura felt all air leave her lungs. The sheer audacity, she could hardly believe it. For a second she stared at Bear with wide eyes before a switch inside her flipped and she growled instead. Killing intent flooded the area as she showed her sharpened canines to the Konoha-nin in front of her while clutching the handles of her tanto and drawing both blades.

“You dare barter for an artefact that belongs to my people?!” Isobu shifted within her and Sakura was fully aware that she was racing towards the edge of a metaphorical cliff. So did he and reacted accordingly.

“I wonder why they sent you on a diplomatic mission.” Hatake casually pulled a kunai from his pouch and lazily spun it between his fingers. The kyuubi container glanced back and forth between Sakura and Hatake, unsure of how to react. Good. The last thing Sakura needed was the fox goading his jailer into getting involved.

“This is not a diplomatic operation. It's a retrieval mission. Kubikiribōchō belongs to Kiri and you have no claim to it,” she hissed through clenched teeth and bent her knees slightly, falling into a comfortable stance that would allow her to either attack or defend on a moment's notice.

“The blade was acquired during a Konoha operation. It is well within our authority to decide what happens to it,” Bear stated calmly, arms crossed in front of his chest with fingers that brushed against the opening of a pouch which was sewn into his body armour.

' _You sent Saiken to inform your Terumi that damage control is in order. What exactly do you think you're doing here, inciting violence like that?_ ' She was making sure Konoha didn't walk all over Kiri, damnit. Claiming one of Kiri's most famous artifacts for themselves came close to breaching the terms of their alliance. It was interfering with village secrets. Was she supposed to just let them get away with it?  
' _For the sake of your village, yes._ ' Sakura grit her teeth before releasing a loud frustrated snarl. Sheathing her tanto with more force than necessary, she dropped out of her combat stance and planted both feet firmly on the ground.

“What do you want?” she demanded while still calculating her chances of being able to just grab the legendary sword and making a run for it. The kyuubi posed the only challenge, at least until she reached the open sea. It was a valid back-up plan.

“Hokage-sama wishes for Kirigakure no Sato to participate in the next set of chuunin exams hosted in Konoha.” What. Her confusion must've shown on Sakura's face since the little mistake positively radiated smugness and Hatake had a single brow raised in a silent challenge.

' _Don't lose your temper._ '

“Screw you,” Sakura purred under her breath before once again resisting the urge to just go ahead and break something. There was no way Mei had expected an outcome like this. If she had, their cell of two would have been forced to welcome the addition of a diplomacy-trained ANBU.

“I'm not authorised to make decisions of said nature without explicit approval from the Mizukage,” she replied truthfully, if less than friendly.

“Mah, that's okay. Hokage-sama can contact your Mizukage and come to an arrangement. Afterwards, we'll gladly deliver the sword right to your doorstep.” That bastard-

' _Quit it._ ' Just to drive the point home, Isobu forced some of his chakra into Sakura's clenched fists, making her relax them instantly to avoid suffering internal chakra burns. Dratted turtle.

“I didn't know Konoha had to bully her supposed allies into joining her chuunin exams.” She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Mei needed Kubikiribōchō. Sakura needed Mei to get what she wanted. But there was no way Sakura would be expected to accept or decline on her village leader's behalf. If she made the wrong decision, Mei could very well tear her head off her shoulders. It would certainly be her right.

“Hokage-sama planned to extend the offer in the near future but then you went ahead and informed her of your plans regarding the sword... well now, here we are.” So that's how it was. Because Mei snubbed the Senju, the Senju backed her into a corner. Fucking. Politics. But in that case, shouldn't Sakura just go along with it? There was nothing she wanted less than to enter this political sub game yet on the other hand... Mei was responsible for the situation Sakura found herself in. And she _had_ sent her to take care of it.

“Fine. We're entering. Now step aside.” A faint wave of approval bloomed in the depths of Sakura's mind and while she certainly didn't trust it, she felt marginally better about having just made a major political decision without Mei's permission.

“Oh? Here I thought you didn't possess the authority to make these kinds of promises.” Sakura growled once, then took a step closer.

“We're. Entering,” she repeated her earlier words and advanced further towards the marker, as if daring anyone to tell her to back off. Nobody did. Neither did a single Leaf-nin interfere when Sakura's fingers closed around the handle of the massive blade before pulling it from the earth, nearly buckling under the heavy weight.

“Need help with that?” And because Sakura was in a terrible mood without an ounce of patience left for the antics of the last Hatake, she opened herself to Isobu, allowed his acidic chakra to flood her veins until she was cloaked in a red layer of chakra, three tails casually swaying in the breeze. Isobu was wise not to comment on that.

“ _You will hear from us,_ ” Sakura rumbled over her shoulder, naturally high-pitched voice distorted by a much deeper undertone which was only enhanced by the sanbi's flaring chakra. All of it was entirely unnecessary but Sakura was too busy relishing in Isobu's aura that curled itself around her like a cool, caustic hug.

Without looking back one last time, Sakura gripped Kubikiribōchō tightly, turned East and shot off.

“Do you think she'll make good on that promise?”

“Hinata told me they live in the same compound. I guess they're pretty close.”

“That was a devious plan, using the girl against her own kage like that.”

“Whatever it takes, Bear. Whatever it takes.”

Sakura had not expected anyone to wait for her at the gates. Least of all the rokubi container himself. Five hours oh non-stop ocean crossing at incredibly high speed had taken a toll on her overall chakra reserves and the second her feet had touched upon the solid ground of Mizu's main island, the chakra cloak had collapsed, followed by Isobu's retreat into a meditative state. Utakata sniffed the air, then narrowed his eyes until Sakura dismissed his inquisitiveness with a wave of her hand.

“I need to talk to Mei. I did something I shouldn't have.” And wasn't that just the truth. Utakata let her go sorely due to the lack of blood on her clothes or face. As long as she hadn't murdered someone, the situation couldn't be that dire. Which was a reasonable assumption any other day.

Sakura dragged her feet on the way to Mei's office. On the way home, she had wracked her brain in search for an answer to the conundrum she was faced with. Sakura had pitted mission success against her personal authority concerning important decisions that impacted the village as a whole.

Kiri hadn't participated in any foreign set of chuunin exams for decades. Even now, Mei refrained from sending her genin teams to another village or even host the exams herself. There were economical factors in play, logistical nightmares and simple, age old xenophobia. Especially now that they stood on the brink of war, the last agenda on Mei's mind would be sending her genin and herself to another village. A village which was located in the same territory that already claimed plenty of Kiri's lives.

Granted, Sakura hadn't exactly been thinking straight when she made that particular decision but now, after five hours of thinking about it, finally realised how large a hole she had dug for herself. And Mei. Fully aware that there was no way for Sakura to soften the blow, she knocked once on the door which led to the Mizukage's office. After waiting for a single breath and not being told to go away, she opened the door and stepped inside.

A small crowd of people waited for her on the other side. Four aged council members stood in a half circle around Mei's desk, their backs turned to the wall and attention focused on the two tall shinobi who stood in the middle of the room. One of them was Mei. The other Ao.

The blinds were drawn, the scene illuminated by a small handful of candles scattered all over Mei's desk. The Mizukage stood with her back straight, chakra roiling inside her veins and pressing against her skin, eager to be released. Her right palm was wet and red with her own blood when she pressed it against Ao's forehead as the man kneeled before her, head bowed in reverence. A few isolated drops of red liquid fell from Mei's palm, splashing on the blade of the legendary sword that rested on the floor between them.

“Rise, son of the sea and accept the symbol of your ascension into the ranks of Kirigakure no Sato's most exalted guardians.” With a practised movement, Mei smeared her own blood across Ao's face, then curled her hand around his just as he grasped the hilt of Samehada.

Sakura stood as still as a statue, refusing to make a single noise as the sword lit up brightly, eagerly drawing upon and consuming their combined chakra with a positively wanton hum. She could feel the tendrils of its awareness reach for her, whose energy signature was so intense it eclipsed that of everyone else in this room, and automatically took a step backwards.

Ao got to his feet, standing tall and proud until he was eye to eye with Mei who leaned closer to whisper:

“Safe tides, old friend.” She lingered for a second before withdrawing both her hand and face and just like that, the spell was broken, the magic gone.

Samehada settled down once Ao attached it to his back, the simple action resulting in an immediate calm to befall the room and its occupants, replacing the earlier erratic atmosphere. Light returned as windows were opened and fresh air chased away the last remnants of heaviness and sobriety.

“Well will reconvene tomorrow in order to establish your war council, Mizukage-sama,” Elder Awako spoke respectfully, heralding the departure of her fellow council members. Neither of them deigned to look at Sakura as they passed her who was utterly relieved at their dismissal. The entire council wasn't fond of her as it was and considering just how much she was about to ruin Mei's day, one less confrontation was a true blessing.

“You brought it home.” Mei sounded pleased so naturally, Sakura cringed visibly because Kubikiribōchō wasn't the only thing she had brought home. Ao gave Mei one last bow of his head before he turned around and left the office, acknowledging Sakura's presence, as usual, with a faint grunt and sharp nod.

“You really were serious about rebuilding the swordsmen.” It was an empty comment. Sakura had never doubted Mei's resolve or conviction. Still, Ao's promotion was... surprising. Not undeserving considering he was one of Mei's most loyal soldiers and beyond capable of assuming the role of a military commander. He would work well with at least one of his fellow swordsmen and provide a good example for Chojuro, who currently was most likely busy receiving a crash course in military command.

“Samehada is a picky beast. I did not enjoy having to sacrifice my personal bodyguard.” Ah. So the appointment hadn't been her first choice. Sakura nodded sagely as she stepped closer to the desk while unstrapping the monstrous sword from her back. The metal hit polished wood with an audible clang. Sakura was glad to be rid of it considering the world of trouble it had landed her in.

“Were there any complications? Utakata already filled me in. I don't quite approve of your decision to split up although I do understand. Learning of our attacker's nature in time was of paramount importance.” To avoid causing a diplomatic incident with Konoha. Yes. Sakura was quite aware. Mei suddenly stopped her pacing and narrowed her eyes at Sakura who, in an extremely tale-telling move, tilted her head to the side just enough to avoid meeting the older woman's gaze.

“What have you done.” Mei's chakra flared beneath her skin and if Sakura were to look into her eyes, she'd already find former emerald darkened into a rich pine green. It made her own insides itch but she forced the urge down and instead tried to focus on the issue at hand.

“Konoha was there first. They wanted to negotiate,” Sakura began slowly, licking her lips and closing her eyes in an effort to ignore Mei's budding rage. The intensity of the energy pouring from the woman was a testimony to how stressed she was. Under threat of war with an uncertain future so shortly after recovering from the greatest disaster in Kiri's history... It was a miracle the Terumi had anything left to give at all.

“I... you wanted Kubikiribōchō.” It was the closest she would come to an admission of guilt. Sakura knew this. So did Mei.

“And what did _they_ want?” She had regained some of her control. Hot air cooled considerably at the same time as the faint hint of salt and burning embers receded. Sakura steeled herself but refused to look up.

“Our participation in the chuunin exams.” Sakura paused, exhaled audibly and turned away from the older woman.

“On your behalf, I agreed.”

“You are thoughtless,-” Miss.

“-rash,-” Miss.

“-uncontrolled,-” Miss.

“-and a blight upon society.” Hit.

With the force of a coming storm, Sakura's sanbi-charged fist connected with Utakata's rokubi-infused outer shell. The resulting impact sent both of them backwards, hurtling through the air until they landed on opposite sides of the training field.

Breathing heavily, Sakura opened her eyes to stare at the bright azure sky above, arms and legs aching in a way she hadn't experienced in a long while. Day three of her self-imposed exile was not going well, possibly due to the fact that Utakata joined her willingly and did her a favour despite all the insults he spat at her.

Sakura had no idea why he did that. Not the insults; those were pretty much the basis for their antagonistic relationship. The man didn't _like_ her and saw no need to hide his disapproval. Yet he came back, day after day, to take the brunt of her anger and dish out some of his own. Their dynamic was far from healthy but somehow, it still worked. Perhaps it was time to accept one of the shreds of wisdom Mei had shared with her. Sometimes it was just better not to ask too many questions.

“Are you already done?” The rokubi container's hair was still perfectly arranged around his head, his robe pristine, skin dry. Sakura's eyes searched his face and upon spotting the edge of a shallow cut underneath the hair which fell in front of his left eye, she smirked. One of these days she was going to get past his defences and beat the shit out of him.

“Not yet,” Sakura replied before getting to her feet and brushing some sand off her simple training garb. It was too early to take a break although her stomach was already nagging at her to go fish for dinner. Fish and nothing but fish got old astoundingly quick. If Sakura currently had other options, she'd make use of them.

“The first war council is scheduled for tomorrow. You're expected to be there.” As one of two jinchuuriki she was one of Kiri's most valuable weapons so the invitation didn't surprise her. As much as Sakura wanted to shake her head and simply avoid the whole affair, she was fully aware that she'd be dragged there kicking and screaming if she failed to comply. In the end, she was a jounin of Kirigakure no Sato and would take her duties seriously, whether she liked it or not.

“Mei hasn't sent you on a recon mission since our joined operation.” The thought had bugged her for a while now. Junji and Utakata were the Mizukage's first choices when it came to assigning recon missions of all kinds. They were fast, unassuming when they wanted to be, inherently skilled and loyal to the bone. Ever since the attacks on their shinobi had begun, either of the two males usually found themselves scouring Fire country for information. Sakura had seen their reports on Mei's desk. But now, she met up with Utakata once a day. He was being kept inside the village and Sakura wanted to know why.

“Uzushio was the first village to figure out the specifics of sealing bijuu into humans. Why do you think Mizukage-sama keeps me close to her chest?” Of course. In hindsight, it was entirely obvious. Although that meant-

“You will be sharing my fate for the foreseeable future.” Sakura screamed in rage before launching herself at Utakata, starting their cycle of violence once more.

It was way past midnight, when Sakura finally collapsed. Utakata had left a few hours ago after she managed to get past his defences once, then promptly threw him into the side of a cliff. He had retaliated swiftly and brutally, forcing Sakura to spent all of her chakra, along with a good amount of Isobu's reserves. In the end, she'd been broken and beaten while the older jinchuuriki was only mildly out of breath. She wondered if she'd ever be strong enough to make him bleed.

' _You are being ridiculous._ ' Sakura blinked bleary-eyed as a loud yawn escaped her mouth. Her hair unkempt and tangled, clothes rumpled and torn in places, she laid on cool sand with the soles of her feet resting in shallow water. At some point their spar had moved to the open sea and the last thing Sakura remembered before waking up just now, was disappearing beneath the waves. She doubted Utakata would have left her to the mercy of the ocean so he had probably dumped her here.

“Why,” Sakura croaked and blindly searched for a water canteen that wasn't there. Sage only knew where it had ended up.

' _You insist on living in the wilderness like an animal when your keeper hasn't even thrown you out._ ' And here Sakura had thought the turtle would appreciate spending some time in his natural habitat.

“Only because she hasn't kicked me out doesn't mean she's particularly keen on my presence at the moment.” Sakura had made the decision not to test Mei's patience. The older woman had dismissed her mere seconds after Sakura's confession. Following that, she'd wandered the village for a while until her restlessness led her to the shore where she'd forced herself through a merciless training regime.

' _If she didn't want you in the compound, she would have told you. I know her kind. Terumi are rather vocal about whatever bothers them._ '

“I'll go back tomorrow,” Sakura finally conceded if only to get Isobu to shut up. She had a headache and the last thing she wanted right now, was to argue with the demonic turtle in her head.

' _See that you do._ '

“Bite me,” she murmured quietly to herself, then hissed in discomfort when he sent a jolt of chakra through her system. If Isobu rose to a bait like that, he had to be just as grouchy as her. In all fairness he had told her once that her own mood influenced his. What a sorry bunch they were.

“Don't you know, hime, that talking to oneself makes other people uneasy?” Sakura's tired mind took a second to process the voice before matching it to a face. When it did, she jumped to her feet and whirled around to come face to face with Junji, who was sitting on a rock next to her sheathed blades. He looked well. Uninjured, relaxed, perfectly put together like the marble statue he was.

“I figured if I didn't come to you first, we'd never get to talk again,” he mused thoughtfully as he got off the rock, sauntering closer to where Sakura warily half-crouched on the edge of the water.

“And we can't have that, now can we.” After weeks of neither speaking to him, nor catching even a glimpse of him around the village, Sakura didn't know how to react to his sudden presence.

“You were angry,” was all she managed, still following every single one of his movements like a predator. Junji was do danger to her, had never been, and she really wished she could stop eyeing him like a threat. His aura was carefully contained inside his body to the point where not even the air around him had dropped in temperature. The only way he could appear less like the seasoned killer he was known as, would be for him to get rid of his katana which was, frankly, ridiculous. Not even Mei wandered around Kiri without at least two small blades hidden on her person.

“Who's to say I no longer am?” Sakura squinted her eyes, took in the lack of mirth which usually accompanied Junji wherever he went but also couldn't find a single trace of the utter blankness he had shrouded himself in last time they saw each other.

“I said I was sorry.” Not that anything she'd ever said compared to the dejection she experienced as a direct result of the distance between them. Sakura was both, and not, deeply emotional. She felt strongly while being just pathetic enough to barely understand herself and the people around her in the first place. Emotions were hard. So were relationships. Considering that a bestial chakra turtle was her primary adviser regarding these concerns, Sakura personally didn't believe anyone could expect that much from her.

“That you did.” Junji sounded just like Mei when she was waiting for _more_.

“I shouldn't have done it but in my defence, all I could think about was an S-Rank criminal with a personal vendetta against me who certainly wouldn't mind killing anyone who got in his way,” Sakura couldn't help but growl. This entire situation already frustrated her. Why did he have to put her on the stand like that, force her to wrangle with words and feelings neither of which were exactly her strong suit.

“He batted Sato away like a damn toy. I had only one chance of surviving him and that was merging with the sanbi, assuming a form I trained with but never used in a real combat situation! I was just as likely to kill you as Hoshigaki!” It was getting harder to think straight, especially when faced with Junji who was supposed to be another source of stability for her, not one of great irritation.

“So you conveniently forgot that I am classified as an S-Rank threat myself?” Somehow, that took all wind out of her sails. She had, hadn't she? Junji of the Yuki clan, bastard child who never reclaimed his clan legacy yet wielded their kekkei genkai all the same. Kenjutsu master, genjutsu expert, sensor type. Assassin. Hunter-nin. Crimson Shade, Red Ghost of the Mist, Terror of the Isles. A legend in all but name, a man who had gone toe to toe with Sakura's frenzy more than once and effortlessly put her back in her place each and every time.

When exactly had she lost track of how more powerful than herself, her allies were? When had Sakura begun thinking that she was a danger no one else could contain, short of Mei herself? She was not her grandfather, not yet, might never be as strong as Karatachi Yagura. Her victory against Kisame had been the result of something she couldn't name but in reality, had very little to do with her own prowess.

“I am sorry.” She repeated herself, quiet and subdued, while rubbing her forehead in an effort to get rid of the sudden pounding ache behind her eyes.

“Yes. I believe you are.” Junji's hand found its way on her shoulder, prompting Sakura to look up once more. His grey eyes sparkled, his jaw was relaxed, the mirth back in the curve of his lips.

“Come on, then. You've spent enough time roughing it like an old school shinobi.” Sakura wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but apparently she'd done the right thing. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

“Where are we going?” she asked, more out of habit than anything else. Trusting him was easy, but the ease with which this entire situation had been resolved felt just a little too tantalising. Junji had a mean vindictive streak which Sakura had never been subjected to, but then again there was a first time for everything.

“Suspicious?” Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, desperately searching for anything that was out of place. The list came up empty.

“Yes,” she replied flatly. Junji seemed terribly amused and had the gall to smirk at her as if they hadn't just more or less ignored each other's existence for weeks at a time. Sakura itched to ask if such behaviour was normal among friends, momentarily forgetting about how hard it generally was to get a straight answer from that man.

“I heard you've been naughty so I thought you could tell me all about how you used our beloved Mizukage's authority to make a binding contract with another nation over a cup of warm sake.” Junji was definitely making fun of her. She let it slide solely due to the fact that she deserved it. That, and more.

“Do you know who she's going to initiate?” Sakura was quite curious mostly because she didn't have much contact with the general forces. She knew few faces and even fewer names and while Ao was a natural choice, she wondered who else made the cut.

“I already turned her down,” Junji answered easily as they stepped through the North gate, causing Sakura to blink owlishly. Junji? A Swordsman? Well, he certainly had the skill though Sakura had a hard time imagining him working in the spotlight and commanding armies.

“The offer was pure courtesy, to show the council that she holds me in high regard. We both know that I'm more of a skirmisher.” Skirmisher was putting it mildly, Sakura thought while frowning over the politics involved in what was supposed to be a purely military affair. She could only guess at the amount of arguments that had to take place between Mei and the council, both of which had their own favourites.

“One of the search parties sent notice that their mission was successful. With Kiba coming home, Mizukage-sama is busy examining her ranks for potential wielders.” Four out of seven was splendid news. Nobody was under the illusion that all seven blades could be acquired, or even found, in time. More than half of them was already more than anyone could have hoped for.

“Do you think we're going to war?” Sakura hadn't meant to sound as tentative as she did. The entire topic was... difficult, for her. She thrived on violence and bloodshed, lived for the thrill of the kill and found her inner peace in the blood that coated her hands. Yet on the other hand, war meant death. Conflict. Danger to her family. Danger to Kiri. Danger to Mei. The prospect of either of those coming to harm at the hands of outsiders, terrified her more than anything else.

“You know what they say: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” Sakura had nothing to answer to that so she mindlessly followed Junji who eventually led her to the jounin apartments. She had never been to his place before but upon entering his personal retreat, couldn't find it within herself to be surprised at how quintessentially _Junji_ it was.  
Decorative ceremonial blades lined the walls, along with a collection of masks and calligraphy. The occasional piece of artwork depicted either the sea or grassy shores, the entire space was held in pale pastel colours in various shades of blue, grey and white. Classy, muted, and above all, tasteful. A perfect representation of the man himself. Sakura almost hated the sheer perfection with which the entire interior was put together.

“You're not pretty when you frown.” Said frown morphed into a dissatisfied snarl which naturally prompted the hunter-nin to pat her head as if she was an unruly house cat.

“Take a seat,” Junji spoke with a wave of his hand before disappearing into the kitchen. Sakura felt weird and restless, being confined to his sanctum like this. Him showing up in her own rooms in the Terumi compound unannounced, was one thing. A major annoyance for sure, but one she had gotten used to. Now that the tables had turned, Sakura got the distinct impression that she was intruding. Choosing one of the smaller chairs to sit on, she removed her blades from her person and gently placed them on the couch while mourning the general state of her clothing. Utakata never played nice and for once, Sakura was glad that her getting older came with a need for binders. They currently did the job her shirt failed to do.

“I assume Utakata already let you know that you've been ordered to join tomorrow's war council as bystander,” Junji said as he returned from the kitchen with two porcelain cups in his hand. Sakura caught a whiff of the burning sharpness typically associated with alcohol and scrunched up her nose. The hunter-nin was not taking no for an answer so a second later, she accepted one of the cups with no intention of taking a single sip.

“Do _you_ know why she invited me?” Junji had eyes and ears everywhere and Sakura would really like to know if there was more to this than her status as village weapon. She didn't exactly trust Utakata to be completely honest with her.

“Beyond the sanbi? I have an inkling.” She waited for him to elaborate. He didn't. At least some things never changed. They fell into a companionable silence after that until eventually, Sakura decided to take a sip of the beverage in front of her. The taste was vile and Junji had a good laugh at her expense.

Just as the sun had set on Kirigakure no Sato, Sakura made to leave only to be held back by Junji's hand on the crown of her head.

“You can sleep on my couch. I promise it's more comfortable than the sand.” Not quite trusting his hospitality, she lingered on the doorstep for another minute while staring into his silvery eyes. He patiently waited until she was done with her inspection, then twirled a strand of messy pink hair around his index finger before giving it a gentle tug.

“Your hair's a mess,” he commented as if Sakura wasn't already aware of that. After two nights of sleeping on the beach and going toe to toe with her fellow jinchuuriki there were more knots than actual strands in her hair.

“I'll fix it for you.” And in the end, that was that. With the sake's warmth pooling in her stomach and Junji carefully brushing, then braiding her locks, Sakura allowed her eyes to fall shut and mind to rest. It was good to have him back.

The next morning, Sakura woke to the smell of eggs and fish. With a yawn, she arched her back much like a cat would while opening one eye, then soon after the second. White ceiling instead of mahogany, couch instead of a bed and the smell was all wrong-

“Wakey wakey, hime.” Junji. Memories of last night filtered into her brain and she vividly recalled the feel of his touch in her hair. Automatically, Sakura's hand moved to the back of her head where it came to a rest upon the flawless fishbraid pattern she had so gotten used to. Not a dream then. She had missed that braid.

“Morning,” she mumbled lazily, the remnants of sleep still clinging to her awareness and clouding her senses. Despite being a light sleeper, Sakura hadn't woken once and probably gotten more sleep than during the past two nights combined. Good. She needed all the rest she could get in preparation for tonight's war council. Just then, a plate of food was placed on the desk in front of her, causing Sakura's stomach to growl.

“Thanks.” Breakfast conversation was sparse as Sakura slowly shed the last shreds of slumber. Neither of them spoke another word, not even after they finished their meal and Junji handed Sakura a simple training shirt that loosely hung off her body, easily three sizes too large for her smaller frame. She ended up accompanying him on his morning run, then snapped awake the second he came flying at her with his fists.

They dodged and weaved in Kiri's most notable dance, their unique brands of unbridled violence mingling into a bright shade of a frosty mint green. Junji displayed none of his usual jovial nature and came at her harder than ever before. He wasn't subtle, Sakura thought, and quietly accepted his way of making sure she truly understood that he was her superior in every way and never to be taken out of a fight by her own hand again.

The only reason she didn't end up a stain of red on a nearby cliffside, was Isobu doing what he did best.

They ended up spending the majority of the day together, simply because Junji decided it was going to happen and Sakura couldn't be bothered to argue. In practise, that meant covertly visiting her parents where Sakura, once again, was thoroughly blindsided by the closeness between Junji and her mother. He proved to know more about the happenings in her family, than she did.

“Any particular reason you attached yourself to my pregnant mother?” Sakura asked once night had fallen and they were on their way to the Mizukage building.

“Hm... nostalgia, I think. I served her father, I watch over you... it feels only natural to include her as well,” he answered thoughtfully. Sakura had nothing to say in return. She'd been blind to his involvement all this time while her mother greeted him like a mildly obnoxious older sibling despite them being the same age. Yet the more she thought about it, the more she realised that yes, Junji did appear comfortable assuming the role of a caring, if infuriating older brother.

“Idiot,” she murmured under her breath, too quiet for even his freakishly sensitive ears to understand.

Any further conversation was brought to a halt by their arrival at Mei's office. The window was ajar and a tight squeeze but Sakura refused to be outdone by Junji who positively slithered through the tiny gap. A number of chairs and tables were arranged in the spacious room, the sheer number of people making the entire space feel cramped. Junji led Sakura to a corner behind Mei's desk while the latter asked herself why they didn't just meet up in the council room which was easily twice the size of the office.

Groups of various sizes talked quietly among themselves and as Sakura surveyed the room, she spotted more than just one familiar face. The entire elder council was present, as well as their advisers. In another corner, sat the jounin and ANBU commander along with Ao and the hunter-nin division captain. Utakata had taken refuge next to a potted plant whilst radiating an aura that bordered on hostile. The occasional derisive glances some of the elders sent his way explained his negativity.

“No civilians?” Sakura asked quietly before perching on a low table close to Mei's desk. She hadn't exactly expected them considering the fact that Mizu was, ultimately, a militaristic nation. Civilians had little power yet were well cared for as they were the ones who supplied the actual army with supplies and food. It made for a very strict two class system but one that had worked well for centuries, become the strongest pillar of their society.

“Depending on what happens, they'll be involved and put through remedial training. Best not to cause panic before that.” Suddenly, Sakura was glad she had given in to the sudden urge to warn her family and truly hoped that her mother had taken those words to heart. One way or another, her father would be drafted back into active service and her family might not survive the possible outcome of that. Sakura could do little to lead and guide her clan, branded as she was. Kagura had to grow up strong and healthy to make sure the Karatachi still had a future, a place in this village and the world as a whole.

It didn't take much longer for Mei to show up. The door to her office slammed open, and in she stormed with the fury of the tides. She stopped briefly, eyes roaming until they found Sakura and once they did, brightening ever so slightly. Her chakra settled back underneath her skin as much of her earlier tension dissipated into nothingness.

“Look who missed you,” Junji rumbled lowly. Sakura's response to his quip came in the form of a quiet vibrating growl that started in her stomach, made its way up her throat until it escaped through clenched teeth. On the other side of the room, Utakata looked up sharply before taking in the scene in front of him. With a roll of his eyes, he once again directed his attention to the elders.

Just then, the spell was broken. Mei turned her head away from Sakura and continued her march towards her desk.

“As much as I hate having to say this,” she began while dropping a thick stack of papers onto polished mahogany wood before turning around to face those who had gathered in her office,

“We are going to go to war.” A hushed silence hell over the room as everyone recognised the severity of the situation. Their Mizukage's voice was strained, the woman herself looked tired and furious at the same time.

“We know who's responsible. Utakata's report was clear: crimson hair, liberal use of fuinjutsu, red swirls on their shirts.” The attention of the soon-to-be war council briefly shifted to the standoffish rokubi container. He met their gazes with a hard silent stare of his own.

“The number of attacks on our people as well as the numerous sabotaged operations suggest more than a mere group of stragglers. At this point it's safe to say, that they are organised. And I'll be damned if I for even a single second, believe that those small-scale attacks will keep them satisfied forever.” That was the crux of the matter, wasn't it. These Uzushio-nin were interfering with everything from missions to supply lines. For now, they restricted their movements to Fire country. Nobody would be naïve enough to believe they'd never hunger for more.

“There has been an increase in activity around the ruins of Uzushiogakure. My ANBU were unable to pass through the barriers of old although they did note that their frequency has changed,” the white-masked former ANBU commander reported in that deep, gravelly voice of his. He was a bulky man, strong in a rather brutish manner which explained the massive sword strapped to his back quite well. If Mei had given him Kubikiribōchō, Sakura was curious as to who had been promoted to lead the shadow ranks in his stead. She had yet to meet her new superior.

“You think they're holed up in the remains of their village,” Mei stated as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and listened to the man's take on the situation.

“Someone has been feeding the barrier, reinforced it to the point where it blocks even our strongest sensor,” the swordsman elaborated with a sharp nod at Utakata.

“On top of that, when questioned, the villagers of small towns close to the shore reported a recent economic revival due to a small number of foreigners who regularly traded with them for food and basic construction supplies.” Damning evidence, indeed.

“Is the Fire daimyo involved? The Hokage? Allied we may be, but there are contracts in place, old unions between Konoha and Uzushio that take primacy over basic trade agreements,” one of the elders interjected and from then on, the council descended into an organised chaos. Sakura made sure to pay attention to everything that was said although it wasn't easy what with two, or even three, discussions happening at the same time.

There was too much to do, too many factors to take into account, too many variables and too little knowledge. Weeks of surveillance and investigation were necessary in order to gather enough information to formulate any sort of plan whatsoever.

Were the attackers entirely Uzushio?`Who were they led by? Who had organised them in the first place? What was their goal, were they coordinating their efforts with Konoha, _were they walking into a death trap by attending the chuunin exams?_

The moment the exams came up, Sakura shrunk further back into her corner. Everybody stared and her and nobody was happy. The acquisition of one of their seven apparently wasn't worth the trade-off. Sakura wouldn't dare and try to argue against that.

After another hour of hatching plans and coming up with strategies as well as emergency protocols, Mei abruptly ended all further discourse with a bright flare of her chakra.  
“Seeing as there is little we can do right now aside from preparing to the best of our abilities,” she spoke to the room, easily holding her audience captive,

“I will now announce recent changes to our roster.” Sakura's head snapped around, senses once again on full alert. She was beyond curious about the identity of the new commander.

“First off, Nakamura Tadao, who has diligently commanded the ANBU corps for over two decades was chosen as wielder of Kubikiribōchō and initiated into the ranks of the Seven.” The man in question took a step forward with a fist over his chest and bowed deeply for the elder council who each gave him a respectful nod in turn.

“As for the new ANBU commander,... I have chosen Yuki Junji.” Sakura nearly toppled off her perch as she stared at the hunter-nin to her left with wide eyes. He didn't even have the gall to look surprised. Oh, the bastard had known all along, hadn't he?

“I'm honoured, Mizukage-sama,” he spoke softly, though once Mei moved on and nobody paid attention to him anymore, he tilted his head ever so slightly to show Sakura the hint of a smirk. What an utter bastard.

“With Ao's new status as one of the swordsmen, I am currently short one personal bodyguard,” Mei continued as her eyes grew marginally colder and warmer at the same time,

“and since you have decided that we are going to Konoha in order to participate in their chuunin exams,” she spoke, icy glare coming to a rest on Sakura's shadowy form that was only partially hidden by the darkness of the corner which she had claimed for herself,

“you will accompany me.” Sakura had expected that. However, what followed next caught her off-guard.

“In your new function as my personal bodyguard.” Mei's glower morphed into a wry smile as she watched Sakura struggle to remain unfazed.

“Congratulations on your promotion, Karatachi-chan.”

_Dear Karatachi-sama,_

_I am delighted that you have decided to accept my offer. I admit I wasn't sure you would, but I am beyond excited that my hopes weren't dashed._

_I have recently come to know that Kirigakure no Sato will participate in this year's chuunin exams and wondered whether you will be part of the delegation? As I write this letter, the list hasn't arrived yet and even if it had, I am unfortunately not privy to such information._

_In either case I would be happy to see you again. If you do end up travelling to Konohagakure, I want you to know that the doors of my home are open to you to visit whenever you like._

_Perhaps you might even be interested in a small tour around the village. It has been quite a few years since you've last been to Konoha after all. As such, I respectfully offer my services as guide to you and whomever else you decide to bring along, should you choose to do so._

_Due to my sister's team entering the exams I will be quite involved in the whole affair so I am sure I will have plenty of opportunity to see you._

_Of course, all that is moot in the event of you not actually accompanying your teams. Please, if at all possible, let me know ahead of time whether you will come to the village or not so I may adjust my plans._

_I look forward to your visit or, failing that, your letter._

_Yours truly,_

_Hyuuga Hinata_

“Let her know. If there is any treachery afoot, we are well prepared. They wouldn't dare risk unleash the sanbi in their village.”

_Hyuuga-san,_

_I will indeed accompany our delegation to Konohagakure no Sato. By now the list should have arrived and I do not doubt you managed to acquire the information you desired._

_I would like to visit your home since it has indeed been a long time since I last walked through the gates of your village. It will be an experience to return, if only momentarily. I expect it to be interesting, if nothing else._

_A friend of mine will accompany me on the journey and he would be very interested in the tour you offer, I am sure of it. He and I both will take you up on it._

_I wish your sister good luck for her exams. I myself have only passing acquaintance with the teams Mei-sama has decided to enter but shall support them nevertheless in my function as supplementary trainer._

_Until then, respectfully,_

_Karatachi Sakura_

“Uzushio has never acted without Konoha as its guide. If we're about to walk into the lion's den, we shall do so armed to the teeth and with blood on our lips.”

Sakura instinctively gripped the handles of her swords tighter as she stood tall and proud in front of Mei with Junji by her side. Fire burned in her Mizukage's eyes, perfectly mirroring the violence hidden behind sweet smiles and flirty winks.

Sakura looked at her and quietly thought to herself, that this was a woman she would go to war for. A woman she would die for.

**And here we are once more, going round and round in circles, forever chasing one another.**

' _You're certain, then? You truly believe it's them?_ '

**I've known Mei for what she was ever since I saw it in her eyes on the day she laid me to rest.**

' _And Sakura? What of her?_ '

**She shows all the signs. It's hidden in her heart, buried so deep even I cannot reach it.**

' _Their reunion heralds days of darkness for all of us._ '

**Indeed.**

' _And what about you. What is your role in this cycle?_ '

**I am here to ensure the clan's prosperity.**

' _Then teach her to swim, lest she sinks like those before her._ '

**Look alive, Sakura. The ocean calls.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might take a little longer to write, maybe one or two days on top of the usual ~7. Just so you know. :) 
> 
> Other than that, I hope you liked the chapter and I'd be happy to hear everyone's thoughts.
> 
> EDIT: After some deliberation I decided to lower the rating to M since the fic has taken a different turn from what I originally envisioned it to be. :)


	11. Act II: Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura's mind goes off the deep end as something foreign guides her actions and thoughts, sending her towards Mei and an unknown future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the moment where we once and for all deviate from canon. I swear it's still Naruto. I swear.
> 
> @Anna: Thanks for the kind words and compliments! I'm happy you enjoyed my story so far.  
> @Panduh123: Well, if you like Hinata and Sakura, it's coming. Hinata's very present during the chuunin exams arc.  
> @Berbear: What I have in store? Uh, so much worldbuilding that it's close to becoming its own piece but I promise the source material still matters. D:  
> @I_should_be_doing_something_else: I'm glad you like Kiri Sakura. I hope you still do.  
> @Boycottlove: Weeeell, Kakashi is not a bastard. Sakura just picks fights with him because she's angry like that. I hope you'll also like this update. :)  
> @clandestine_clear: Well, Konoha is still a chapter away and uh, I do hope I know what I'm doing. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy!

“You fight like a wild animal,” Ao grunted as he stood in front of Sakura with his arms crossed over his broad chest, Samehada a steady presence on his back. She breathed heavily and wiped some sweat off her forehead, glaring at the tall man through a few wet strands of hair that stuck to her skin.

“Mizukage-sama is an accomplished shinobi but it is your job not to rely on that.” No shit. Sakura dropped her blades to the ground and hunkered down for a few breaths. How Ao wasn't tired was completely beyond her. He had been watching her spar with Utakata for two days with barely any breaks.

“You're genetically predisposed to fighting on instinct and anger. It's a flaw in your conditioning you need to get rid of if you want me to allow you to accompany her to Konoha.” Sakura had been surprised, yet pleased to learn of her new appointment. Staying close to Mei and spending most of her time around the older woman was good for her inner peace and general disposition. Once she officially took over Ao's duties, she'd be placed on the Mizukage's personal training squad as well, finally giving her access to her favourite sparring partner.

“Stop acting like a loose cannon and start acting like you have someone to protect.” Ao was a problem though, if not outright _the_ biggest problem. He was a complete and utter bastard. Sakura would never meet his standards, not that anyone ever could. He was old, set in his ways, a veteran in every sense of the word. And he refused to leave his post to fully concentrate on training Chojuro until Sakura delivered an acceptable performance.

“You could tell me how to do that instead of expecting me to figure it out on my own,” she growled and tried very hard not to bare her teeth. She had done it the first time Ao criticised her which resulted in getting a face full of Samehada. All she had been able to think about was that those training methods wouldn't fly anywhere else.

“Never stick to routines and plans. As a bodyguard, every day is a new challenge. There are too many variables involved to sufficiently cover every possible scenario.” Sakura's throat vibrated with a deep rumble that had Utakata sneer at her. She had given up any and all hope that one day, that man would stop considering her as little more than a feral animal.

“Thank you for your guidance, Ao-sensei,” she snarked and only narrowly dodged the following swipe of the shark scale blade. She expected him to stop there and order her to go another round versus Utakata. She had been wrong.

Ao came after her with a speed and agility that put any other man his age to shame. Sakura, whose energy as well as chakra levels were dangerously low, kept her movements to a minimum as she ducked low to avoid another blow. Sheer instinct and luck made her turn her head to the side just in time to see Utakata coming at her from her blind spot.

With a vicious curse, Sakura dug her heels into the ground and flipped around. Calling upon the last remnants of Isobu's chakra, leaving no more than the tiniest reserve required to keep the turtle awake, she channelled it into her feet. Chakra claws sprouted from her toes and Sakura dug them into the earth, then launched herself out of the way. Turning around mid air, she watched Ao divert his swing to the side to avoid bludgeoning Utakara whose form glowed in the same angry red as Sakura's feet.

“Being the Mizukage's bodyguard is the most important position in all of Kirigakure. If you do not show it the respect it deserves, then you are not made for it,” Ao grumbled with a heavy frown, sending waves of deep and strong anger through Sakura's veins.

“Who the hell are you to tell me I don't take Mei's safety seriously?!” Sakura spat at the aged man, barely able to hear herself over the steady thrum in her ears. Her fingers began to twitch as she hunched over, baring her teeth in a silent snarl. From the depths of her mind, she felt Isobu wake from his sedated state to look through her eyes.

“You are nothing more than a young hothead, undisciplined and irrational. Why should anyone trust you to prioritise your kage's safety over your own primal rage?” Between one breath and the next, Sakura's vision went white as something within her snapped. With a howl of fury, she exploded in chakra, her entire being filled with everything she had left. Her mind was an empty expanse of nothingness, no thought or feeling remained, nothing but this sheer indescribable rage. She would take those hands and tear him apart. Him and everyone else who ever doubted her dedication to _her_.

Running on unrefined crackling energy and little else, Sakura charged at Ao only to be intercepted by Utakata who had partially merged with the rokubi. Soapy, sticky chakra covered his entire body so he shrugged off Sakura's blunt impact with ease. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he threw her body off to the side and into a nearby rock.

The stone split apart and shattered with a deafening crack, leaving behind a thick cloud of dust which obscured Sakura as she rolled across the ground. With another snarl, she jumped to her feet to once more try and reach Ao. Her fingers which had long since changed into claws of her own, flexed with the burning need to feel his flesh and crush his bones to dust.

Her aura flared wildly, almost as out of control as she was, and Sakura's rapidly darkening jade eyes fixated on Ao, not at all daunted by the jinchuuriki between them. If she had to go through him in order to sink her fangs into that man's neck, she would. Their mouths moved as if trying to get through to her.

But there was no reaching Sakura.

Her entire body resonated in tune with the near constant growl that sat low in her belly and strained her vocal chords as she was consumed by a savage wrath so much older than herself. Her heart beat so quickly it threatened to burst through her chest as her sight continued to narrow, dark shadows creeping along the edges and obscuring everything but the one who had questioned her devotion to the one she belonged to.

The slug in front of her attempted to warn her off with an aggressive snarl. Her teeth only sharpened. Many centuries ago she had tasted horse. She wondered if slug tasted just as good.

She feinted left just the fraction of a second before the slug reared itself to attack. It didn't fall for it so they clashed mid-air, ripped into each other's bodies and souls, tore and tore at one another, bit, snapped and clawed.

Eventually she discarded the slug on the ground like a broken toy, stepped over its still body as she stalked closer to her victim. Jaws wide open, red and bloody and _hungry-_

“ _Sakura_!”

Reality stuttered and stopped at the sudden nigh unbearable heat surrounding her, like a warm pool of water and fire merged into a creation of utter perfect nature. It encapsulated her very being, sank into every pore of her body, curled around her heart, filled her soul, calmed her mind. Bit by bit it dragged her away from the edge she was standing on, rendered her defenceless and weak while whispering over and over again that _she_ was safe, loved, there was no danger, _she_ was fine.

She hung limply in her arms, floating in her embrace, senses dulled by tiny balls of cotton floating in and out of awareness.

“...'m q....n...,” she mumbled drowsily, fingers curling into the material of her silky garments, cheek rubbing against the coldness of the jewelled pendant around her neck-

There was no cold. Only warmth. No pendant, just... skin?

She blinked, confusion momentarily disrupting the spell she was under, giving her just enough of an edge to open her eyes.

Blue clouded her vision, blue and a warm autumn red, tied together by a divine fragrance reminiscent of embers hot enough to melt through the earth itself and the darkest depths of the ocean, cool and heavy, an eternal presence. She felt her own breath ghost against the woman's skin, was hyper aware of the hands on her body, one resting on her back, the other tangled in her hair. Warm puffs of air gently brushed against the top of her head because while both of them were tall, she had always been just a little taller than her. Regal. Stately. Divine.

“Sakura?”

Sakura? She-

Sakura.

“...Mei...?” Her voice broke and came out as a whisper as colour gradually returned to the world, blue and red supplemented by yellows, greens and everything in between. She sniffed once and smelled the salt on Mei, a hint of blood and more than that, a combination of anxiety, worry and... euphoria.

“Are you out of it?” She, Sakura, gave a tiny nod before clutching Mei's dress one last time, then letting go and extracting herself from the older woman's arms. The fog clouding her mind lifted as she stared at the remains of a massive rock that she had been thrown into, before-

Her head whipped around to look for Utakata who she'd maimed-

Only to find him completely unharmed, if wary and tense, standing in front of Ao with a thin layer of Saiken's chakra covering his form. She remember biting him, burying her fists in his chest only to tear him apart from the inside. There was not a single injury on him. Sakura looked down on her hands. Dusty, a little raw in places, but other than that... clean.

“What happened?” she asked quietly, turning away from Ao and Utakata to seek refuge with Mei's undisturbed aura of calm and steadfastness. Emerald met jade and Sakura wondered if she was still hallucinating because she could've sworn that for a moment there, the green of Mei's eyes had turned black. In between one blink and the next, the emerald had returned and Sakura shook her head in an effort to shake the dizziness and confusion. It must have been a trick of the light.

“You lost it, is what happened. Mizukage-sama, not to doubt your decisions, but surely you cannot mean to take her with you to Konoha,” Ao growled unhappily. A small spark of irritation clawed its way back up top before Mei placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder and pushed it down. Her legs wobbled as exhaustion caught up with her. When Sakura crumbled, the redhead was there to catch her.

“You served under Yagura, Ao. You know better than most that we cannot be separated. For either of our sakes.” Sakura couldn't see the man's reaction and allowed Mei to guide her towards a close rock where she sat down on the ground, back resting against stone.

“What is the sanbi doing?!” Utakata demanded and Sakura realised that months worth of steady progress had just been shattered and reduced to rubble. Fire burned in his eyes, the kind that never ran out of fuel since hatred was a potent motivator indeed.

“Resting,” Sakura mumbled and felt for Isobu's diminished presence. He was barely there, no more than a shred, so weak that when she touched his core the acid hardly burned.

“You shouldn't have pushed her so far. You're lucky I arrived when I did. She's never been so close to a full bloom before.” Sakura's tired brain made sense of the words and recalled the unadulterated desire for violence and destruction controlling her every action. Stealing a single glance at Mei, Sakura remembered that the woman had her first complete frenzy at nine years of age. She didn't know how similar their clan inherited blood lust was or how it manifested but if she'd just gotten a taste of it...

“You're injured,” the woman stated calmly, gently grasping Sakura's wrist and turning it. Thick red blood welled from a deep cut on the back of her hand and the sight felt... wrong. Her vision flickered one last time and in between one breath and the next, the red lost colour as blood turned to water.

“Are you alright?” Mei whispered as Sakura stared at her hand. Crimson. Blood. Not water.

“Yeah... I'm fine,” she murmured and didn't even feel that guilty about lying anymore.

“This is... different,” Sakura spoke into the hollow emptiness of the cave. A single yellow eye opened lazily, just above the surface of the pool. She concentrated in order to manifest limbs and a body while itching to scratch her skin. Something was off. If only she knew what it was.

' _The water changed,_ ' Isobu grumbled, voice dampened and distorted. Curiously Sakura moved one of her hands to her mouth and got a taste with her tongue. She grimaced almost instantly and jerked her finger away from her face.

“It's supposed to be fresh water. Why does it taste like salt?” She had gone to bed very early that day, exhausted and thoroughly disoriented. After Mei had convinced her to accompany her back to the Terumi compound instead of going to the hospital, she had drawn her a bath. Sakura remembered climbing into the tub only to be overcome by an inherent feeling of wrongness. The fresh water hadn't sat well with her, caused her skin to itch instead of calming her body and mind. After a mere few minutes, Sakura had fled to towel herself dry as quickly as possible. Then, she had fallen into bed and asleep seconds after.

' _It's not that surprising. Your chakra doesn't produce fresh water whenever you channel it. That's Saiken's speciality._ '

“Saiken, huh...” Sakura mumbled as she swam to the edge of the pond to get out of the water. She'd never had issues with either type before except now suddenly it seemed that whatever kind of water she came into contact with, disagreed with her.

' _As a slug salt water is dangerous for her. She's unable to store it safely._ ' Sakura heaved her body out of the pond and sat down on the damp cold rock. Drawing her knees close to the chest, she leaned against the back of the cave and stared at Isobu.

“I've been channelling salt water for years, even before I created this place. It shouldn't change unless I force it to.” A dim pulse of magenta drew her gaze to the sun where it hovered far above them, close to the ceiling.

“And this thing...,” she added in an unhappy grumble.

“It keeps messing with me every time your presence weakens. It has to stop doing that.” The only question was how. The damn thing was untouchable, not in the least fazed by Sakura's attempts to move it. She had _tried_. In the end, its will power was much stronger than hers and Sakura had always considered herself rather wilful. To be beaten by an imaginary semi-sentient celestial orb...

' _It was your clan blood that controlled you. Not this being._ ' Sakura perked up at that. He had never referred to it as a being before.

“Is there something you know I don't?” she asked sharply, green eyes narrowed at the five visible percent of turtle. Isobu released some air through his nose, causing the water to bubble violently. His yellow eye swiveled to the side to gaze at Sakura.

' _You try my nerves, hatchling. Do not attempt to start a fight you cannot win._ ' The sanbi failed to deny her accusation and she noticed.

“Maybe I wouldn't have to if I didn't have to worry about losing my mind!” she bit back, not at all daunted by the oppressive aura Isobu radiated with every intention of forcing her to back down.

' _That is what your Terumi is for. Make use of the resources available to you instead of pestering me like a temperamental youngling,_ ' the turtle rumbled, tails moving beneath the surface, causing it to ripple. Sakura bared her teeth and dropped to her knees, crouching close to the edge.

“Except being around Mei makes me hallucinate and see things that aren't there! If she makes it worse, of course I'm going to stay away!” Isobu's reaction to her latest statement was nothing short of violent. He roared and surged upwards, his entire body suddenly breaking through the water that sloshed over the edge, high towering waves crashing down on Sakura who curled into a ball to protect her eyes.

' _YOU WILL NOT SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM YOUR KEEPER!_ ' the sanbi howled, his voice shaking the walls and floor of the cavern. The ground beneath her feet trembled so hard she lost her footing and slipped on the wet stone. Sakura's arms flailed wildly and then suddenly, up was down and down was up and she fell. Her head broke through the surface of the pond, the unexpected dive taking all air from her lungs.

Green eyes widened in panic and surprise as she valiantly tried to right herself in order to return to the surface. One of the sanbi's tails just barely missed her head so she jerked backwards, only to be carried along by the resulting current. Sakura opened her mouth, trying to filter oxygen from water, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't use her chakra in this place.

She struggled to orientate herself, attempted to latch onto Isobu's tail but her fingers slid off the smooth skin. Sakura's eyes grew heavy, her mind sluggish, her body limp. Isobu wasn't supposed to be able to drown her in her own mind. He wasn't supposed to-

Then, darkness.

“ _Look, look! I found a pink shell!”_

“ _Ah, you did. It's pretty.”_

“ _I was looking for something red but couldn't find anything...”_

“ _Don't worry. I shall treasure it.”_

“ _Tomorrow I'll search more.”_

“ _It's fine. I think I like the pink one better anyway.”_

“ _But... why?”_

“ _It reminds me of you.”_

When Sakura woke, it was with a raging headache. Groaning quietly, she rolled onto her back and reluctantly opened her eyes. The mahogany above her head was both comforting and a source of dread. She had spent the night at Junji's yet still woke up in her bedroom in the Terumi compound. She wasn't sure if she should ask questions she didn't want answers to.

Her back cracked audibly when she assumed a sitting position. Only the moon that shone through an opened window illuminated Sakura's surroundings. Looking down on herself, she was dismayed to find that she was still dressed in one of Junji's shirts, her torn training pants and little else. Someone had carried her back to the compound as if she were little more than a runaway child. Rubbing her forehead, Sakura shuffled off the bed, hissing when her bare feet touched chilly floorboards. Summer was rapidly approaching but unlike in Konoha, it did little to change the generally cool and windy climate of the isles.

She squinted at the alarm next to her bed before sighing at the neon red numbers. Midnight. Fully aware that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, Sakura got rid of both the pants and Junji's shirt. Mei had supplied her with an entire wardrobe which included several articles of clothing she would never willingly wear. Among those, an entire set of sleepwear she hadn't touched once.

Ignoring the beautiful cottons and silks, Sakura reached for one of her casual shirts and some underwear. She wasn't quite sure what to do yet but for the compound, it would do. Mei was more than likely to still be stuck in her office and Kaori-san who did the cooking and housekeeping had retired hours ago.

With a single yawn, Sakura opened the door and stepped into the hallways. Blindly finding her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, she patted the cupboard until her fingers closed around the handle.

In hopes that a warm cup of tea would soothe her agitation, she put on the kettle and leaned against the counter. The furrows she had left in the marble months ago had long since been repaired, yet Sakura's hands found the spot nevertheless. She remembered Mei sitting on the floor next to her, telling tales of her past, sharing stories about her grandfather.

Years ago, her only problem had been this endless thirst for violence. Now she carried a turtle inside her stomach, another presence that could control her whenever it liked, heard voices and saw images...

Sakura sighed, buried her fingers in her loose hair and sank down to the ground. It was too much. Too much and everyone knew more than she did. Isobu kept secrets. So did Mei. She had no evidence regarding the latter, yet... if Mei was completely in the dark just like Sakura, she wouldn't merely accept half the shit that happened around her. She would question it. Demand answers. Look for them. Instead, nothing.

The sudden whistle of the kettle tore her from her thoughts. With a grunt, Sakura forced herself on her feet to attend to the boiling water. Mindlessly, she filled a cup with a few leaves of green tea, then dumped the water directly on top of them. Mei would probably roll her eyes at Sakura's blatant show of disrespect for proper tea procedures.

A flash of annoyance caused her to growl at nothing in particular. The more time she spent on her own, the worse her obsession became. It'd be nice to spend a few days away from the older woman without having to think about her all the time. She couldn't help but wonder if her grandfather had ever felt similarly about his bond. What a damn nuisance.

Just as Sakura was about to take a sip, her ears twitched at the sound of a turning doorknob. She froze like a deer, fingers clutching the porcelain cup and oblivious to the heat searing her skin. She would recognise that contrasting aura of warm and cold anywhere. The staccato click of heeled boots stopped and staggered for the fraction of a second as the woman became aware of Sakura's presence.

“It's late,” she spoke softly in lieu of a greeting to which Sakura merely hummed.

“Woke up, couldn't sleep,” she grumbled and took another sip of tea when Mei rounded the corner and stepped into Sakura's field of view. Mizukage hat in hand and hair slightly ruffled, she looked beyond tired.

“I'm glad you're alright. Junji told me you were having a nightmare you refused to wake from. He brought you here. According to him, it helped.” Nightmare? Oh.

“The turtle and I had a disagreement. He wasn't exactly happy with me,” Sakura replied mulishly. It wasn't like she had planned to never talk to Mei again. Just a short break of a few days here and there... he needn't have drowned her. Damned beast. The older woman dropped her hat on the dinner table and approached Sakura.

“What did he do?” she asked and reached for the kettle, causing the water inside to boil with a single tap of her finger. Having three affinities was convenient like that.

“Drowned me.” The cup in Mei's hand shattered. Sakura jumped in surprise, the movement causing her own hot tea to slosh over the rim of her cup and all over her fingers.

“Fuck!” she cursed and dropped the dratted thing while shaking her hands, trying to ignore the searing agony.

“Oh my... I'm sorry,” Mei muttered, budding killing intent gone faster than Sakura could blink. Cool water sprung from her palms and she clasped Sakura's hands in between her own. The water was cold enough. Mei's hands burned. She looked up into her emerald eyes and wasn't surprised to see them darker than before. For a moment, Sakura was jealous of the Terumi's admirable control over herself and her instincts.

“Drowned you, hm? It appears as if that reptile has finally decided to overstep its bounds,” Mei mumbled to herself, voice dark and harrowing, echoing a shred of what she kept carefully hidden behind iron bars.

“He's cranky because I'm cranky. I thought that he had gotten used to it by now but apparently I'm just a difficult case.” And wasn't that just the truth. The sanbi was resting, a simple spirit curled up in her belly, all of its chakra contained within itself. It was hard to recognise him as a being when he withdrew every proof of his existence.

“I see,” Mei replied which made Sakura frown heavily. The corner of her mouth twitched before her lips formed into a scowl.

“I'm glad you do. Because I don't.” The water cooled down even further, as did Mei's hands. Sakura couldn't feel her fingers anymore and despite her irritation, basked in the pain relief.

“You're not ready yet.” Just what she wanted to hear. Anger rose from her insides, ready to flood her very being, when Mei's touch applied more pressure and halted its growth.

“I will tell you... one day. Sooner than I originally planned,” Mei explained, keeping up a steady stream of liquid slithering across their skin.

“You just have to trust me.” The moon shone through the cracks of dark blue window drapes, casting an almost ethereal glow on the scene. Mei's skin was slightly paler due to a lack of sunlight exposure and in the dead of the night, held a radiant ghostly beauty. Her face was half hidden in the shadows, one single green eye staring at Sakura and keeping her captive in its gaze.

“Do you?” she asked and there was only a single answer to her question.

“Always.”

“ _The elders spoke to me today... they... they told me.”_

“ _Does it worry you?”_

“ _I'm scared.”_

“ _Don't be. We'll be alright.”_

“ _How long... how long have you known?”_

“ _Hmm... my mother came to me when I was your age.”_

“ _So... you have waited for me all this time?”_

“ _Ah. I have.”_

“H-he's v-very strict with y-you.” Chojuro handed her a can with iced green tea which Sakura accepted with a thankful grunt. Ao's attitude had not improved. In fact, after that incident where she had nearly lost it, it had gotten worse. The man was different to Utakata in that he didn't hold grudges. He only worked her harder and harder in an effort to quite literally beat her instincts out of her.

“He's a bastard,” Sakura grumbled, prompting the young swordsman's cheeks to flush a bright scarlet. She snorted. Swordsman and a skilled ninja in his own right, yet caught off guard by the most simple of swears.

“He j-just worries over M-Mizukage-s-sama's s-safety,” he stuttered, head once again bowed over one of the many books and texts Ao had dumped into his lap once he met them on training ground three earlier that day. Since he had to train two students in vastly different ways, the man had decided to simply do so at the same time. While Sakura fought and protected Chojuro from Ao's attacks, the blue-haired boy concentrated on his learning material while periodically answering questions the man barked at him.

“I care more.” She couldn't help sounding somewhat petulant. Ao liked to throw her off her game by implying that Sakura didn't take her duties very seriously. Unfortunately, said tactic worked very well indeed.

“If you have the energy to gossip, you have the energy to fight!” Sakura chucked the can at Chojuro whose hand snatched it out of the air before it could spill its contents onto the sand. And just in time too. Sakura twisted her left hand to meet Samehada with the blade of her tanto. The shark scales slid off the high grade steel with a deafening screech and Sakura used the pain in her ears as fuel.

Pulling her second tanto from its holster, she went for Ao's ribs. The swordsman forced the hilt of his sword downwards to parry Sakura's stab. Every fibre of her body wanted her to charge at the man and force him on the defensive. However, she knew better. The moment she attempted to become the aggressor in their spar, he'd fail her once again.

Sakura stuck close to Chojuro as she focused on Ao and allowed her vision to tunnel just enough to be intimately aware of his tells and telegraphs. She fell into a familiar dance, dodged attacks that were aimed at her, blocked, parried or deflected strikes meant for Chojuro. Eventually, the man removed one hand from Samehada's handle and began forming handsigns.

He continued his now slightly weakened assault while Sakura kept careful track of the signs. Dog, Rabbit, Boar, Snake. She vaulted backwards, one hand on the rock to steady herself as she flipped over Chojuro's seat, the other on the boy's vest to pull him out of the way of three water needles Ao sent towards them.

“M-my book!” the boy cried out before he landed on warm sand, unharmed but missing half his educational text.

“Improvise! Adapt! Overcome!” The old man had clearly lost it. Sakura continued dragging the younger swordsman around as Ao's method of attack switched from kenjutsu to suiton techniques. Her own sword now useless, she left it behind and formed handsigns of her own.

Snake, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Horse, Rabbit.

“ _Suiton: Mizu no kara!_ ” A thick bubble of water wove itself around Chojuro, hardening into a durable shell. A B-Rank jutsu Ao had told her to study one day ago. He had not expected her to use it so soon, Sakura could tell. A vicious grin snuck on her face as she closed her fingers around the handle of her katana and charged.

Chojuro was protected for now, and unless Ao had enough time to break the shell, Sakura was free to assault him all she liked. She merely had to keep him busy.

Sakura threw herself at the swordsman, katana angled towards him and in the perfect position to strike at his throat. A wide sweep of Samehada forced her to abort the movement. Twisting mid-air to avoid the clattering scales, Sakura dug the blunt edge of her blade in between the scales and used her weight as leverage.

The legendary sword went wide and left Ao open to attack. He jumped backwards but Sakura was on him, stuck like a leech. No matter how accomplished, age had slowed him down. Sakura had the strength and speed of youth combined with massive chakra reserves that were embedded into her every muscle.

The man's free hand shot out from behind his back with lightning speed and closed itself around her throat. It kept her away from his face but did little to stop the trajectory of her lower body. Sakura kicked his shoulder, pouring just enough chakra into her foot to make it hurt. Ao grunted audibly before giving her a single shake, then throwing her off to the side.

Before she even touched the ground, Sakura saw him sprint towards Chojuro. With a snarl, she landed on her feet, dug them into the sand and launched herself at him. She grit her teeth upon realising that there was no way she could intercept Ao in time. No way she could put herself between him and his target. Ready to be scolded for her recklessness once more, she made to drop low and cancel her charge, when the air around her changed.

Her immediate surroundings warmed ever so slightly as salt and sweat made way for summer rain and lightning. Between one blink and the next, Sakura saw a flash of magenta behind her closed eyelids. All conscious thought left her mind as pure instinct took over.

Rat, Dog, Ox. No exclamation.

A thick whip made entirely of water formed in her right hand and she swung it expertly. It wrapped itself around Ao's left arm as Sakura dropped low and crouched close to the sand. His head snapped around to meet her eyes. Then, she pulled her hand back in one jerky movement.

The man floundered for a single second as he lost his balance, left side completely exposed and vulnerable to Sakura who had already launched herself at him once more.

Suddenly, she was right there next to him, had him completely at her mercy. Sakura drove her elbow into Ao's ribs, ducked her head to avoid a swing of his fist, then raised one foot and brought it down on his. She didn't need to think to dodge each and every one of his blows, danced in and out of his reach with grace she had never called her own before. No matter what he did, the man could not touch her.

Sakura's body struggled to keep up with the incredible speed her mind demanded of her, driving her closer and closer to the end of her line. Traces of Isobu's chakra supplemented where her own failed her, seamlessly supplying her with his energy. After a whole minute of dancing, Sakura belatedly realised that she was playing with the swordsman.

The sudden realisation shook her out of her trance. Displaying her teeth, she went close one last time, wrapped her arm around Ao's neck from behind and pushed herself off the ground. One knee landed in the crook of his neck, while the other dug into his shoulder blades. Both of her hands were wrapped around his cheeks, ready to snap his neck at a moment's notice.

Silence fell over the training ground.

“Unexpected.” Ao's jaw ground against Sakura's firm hold. She blinked wildly and shook her head to rid herself of the remnants of whatever had come over her.

“If you're done climbing me like a monkey, get off me,” the man barked, bringing Sakura's attention to the precarious position she was in. The chakra that made her stick to the swordsman's body fizzled out and she had to scramble to not fall face first into the sand. Hiding the tremors in her fingers behind her body, Sakura turned around to face Ao's scrutiny.

“That jutsu. Where did you learn it?” Jutsu? Images of a water whip trickled into her mind and she recalled the handsigns and the name she had never spoken.

“Suiton: Suiben,” she mouthed quietly, remembering the feeling of solidified water in her tight grip. Sakura had never come across it before.

“Do it again,” Ao demanded. Her head shot up to glance at the eerily still male. Suppressing the urge to fidget, Sakura mechanically extended her arm.

Rat, Dog, Ox.

Before she could open her mouth to speak the words, the whip already rested in her hand. She stared at it, unable to figure out where the hell it came from. The chakra was unmistakably hers. Had she... read about it? Perhaps a scroll Sakura had come across in the Terumi compound and unconsciously kept in mind? It had to be.  
“This jutsu is exclusive to the hunter-nin. Did that Yuki boy break the rules?” Exclusive? And Jun-

“Junji? No,” she replied, trying to ignore how hollow her words felt. No, Junji had nothing to do with this, that much was clear. Somehow, Sakura had picked up a hunter-nin jutsu and forgotten where the knowledge had come from.

“Hmpf,” Ao grunted much like the cranky old man he was before crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Next time you come at a sparring partner like that, try not to use the Yondaime's preferred method for fighting those taller than him. Not everyone will be able to keep as calm as I.” Yondaime? Her grandfather? But... how...

“Now get that boy out of your shell. You're lucky he knows how to filter oxygen. Try not to suffocate your charge.” Chojuro. Shell. Yeah. Right. Sakura tried not to think about what had just happened. Hours later in the privacy of her room, she formed the seals a third time and didn't know whether to be scared or fascinated by the perfect water whip hanging limply from her grip.

The majority of a bodyguard's duty, Sakura found, was learning how to cope with boredom. The second half of her days was spent with Ao and Chojuro where she refined the techniques the former hammered into her brain. Ever since the first, she'd experienced two more of these odd spells where her body acted on nothing but instinct.

Foreign instinct, she reminded herself. The second time, Sakura had nearly skewered Ao with her katana by unexpectedly holding her blade in reverse grip and spinning around her own axis like a small hurricane. The third, she had gained another new jutsu. Ao had not been impressed by the eight seal water dragon that had come crashing down on him.

After the fact, she always failed to remember what had triggered the experience in the first place. The information was right there, in the front of her head, yet still out of reach. Simply maddening.

Although, not nearly as maddening as having to spend hours in Mei's office as the woman did her paperwork, consulted with the elders, addressed to her council, distributed missions.

And Sakura had to stand still. And watch. On her first day, after one hour, her entire body had vibrated with so much nervous energy, Mei had thrown her out. Things hadn't improved on day two. The entire village was preparing for the chuunin exams, even the civilians. Ceremonial armours had to be crafted, as did a multitude of weapons.

Provisions were arranged, routes planned, oh the sheer amount of contingency plans. Sakura did her best to listen to everything that was relevant to their journey. They would leave for Konoha in seven days to spend another two weeks in Hi no Kuni, newly declared no-man's land for anyone of Kiri origin. Mei had cut off any and all travel plans for anyone in all of Mizu, coordinating the effort with the daimyo himself.

Trade routes were the only exception as they needed supplies more than ever as their forges never burnt out, their village never truly slept. If this new position had one major advantage, it was that Sakura was at the heart of the war council. Never leaving Mei's side meant walking into the most heavily sealed council chamber where the various members involved in the war effort planning gathered.

According to one of the elders, the reactivation of retired agents had already begun. Haruno Kizashi's name had been on the list of decommissioned agents. He had a badly mangled right leg that was unlikely to ever heal again. A recent injury. Mei had sent Sakura a look but refrained to comment.

Other than that, surveillance of the outer perimeter surrounding the ruins of Uzushiogakure was everyone's first priority. Ships passed through the barrier every now and then, always in the dead of the night, never leaving behind a gap in the impenetrable shield that prevented foreign eyes or ears from catching even a hint of what was happening inside. So far, there had been no sign of runners to or from Konoha. Not that that meant anything. Fuinjutsu experts had plenty of ways to deliver messages unseen.

Four days into Sakura's deployment as bodyguard, Junji had presented a truly damning piece of evidence. In recent times, a large number of shinobi had defected from their villages, among them a high percentage of redheads. Others who went missing were reported to be either assumed civilian-born or lacking any recognisable heritage. Shinobi who did not belong to any of their village's native families.

Survivors. Refugees. Descendants.

Someone was calling home those of Uzushio's old blood and pointed them straight at Kirigakure no Sato.

“I think I'm done for the day.” Sakura barely repressed a sigh of relief. With a wave of her hand, Mei dismissed the Elders Ishida and Ueda. The second they left the office and the door closed behind them, Sakura dropped out of her straight-laced military posture. As nimble and well-toned as she was, this very specific stance strained an entirely different group of muscles.

“I have news for you. You're going to like them,” Mei continued while removing the hat from her head and smoothing her hair with one hand. Those auburn strands had always been more beautiful than hers, wild, free and unbound. Except for today. A tight braid fell over Mei's shoulders, nearly touching the floor and her bangs were absent, moulded into the braid instead. This infinitely more practical hairstyle only enhanced the sharpness of the woman's features and the sleek elegance that was built into her very bones. There was nothing delicate about her and the image only drew Sakura closer.

“Ao and I spent months fighting together. We're used to each other's movements and strategies. I trained a lot with you the first few months after your transfer yet lately I haven't had the time.” Sakura's heart heat so loudly she worried it might burst through her rib cage.

“So what do you say? I already arranged for Utakata and Ao to meet us at the shore.” The glint in those beautifully sharp eyes knew just how much Sakura wanted this and that the offer had been nothing but mere courtesy. Mei rose from her chair, braid trailing behind her as she walked to the corner of her office where her family katana rested on a filing cabinet. Sakura had wondered why the woman brought it with her when they left the compound hours ago.

Leaving the hat behind, the Terumi exited the building with Sakura hot on her heels. The trek to the shore was blessedly short, even though Mei had led her to the other side of the island, far away from the village. They passed through various ANBU training grounds and at some point, Sakura brushed against Junji's aura. Chojuro and her weren't the only ones currently being conditioned for war time.

“Ao, Utakata,” Mei greeted the two males, both exceptionally tall yet one still dwarfing the other. They stood next to each other, clad in their usual garments though Utakata had traded his floor-length robe for one that reached just below his knees. What truly surprised Sakura however, was the single blade strapped to his back.

“Mizukage-sama,” Ao greeted her with a respectful bow of his head that Utakata mirrored without complaint.

“Grant us an easy first half to get used to one another,” Mei spoke casually while adjusting the gloves covering her hands. She was the only one entirely in casual dress, her boots being the only exception. Sakura didn't doubt that she could still wipe the floor with all of them if only she wanted to.

“There are no easy halves in war, Mizukage-sama,” Ao grunted and nearly got himself impaled by a deliberately badly aimed water needle.

“I can take you both at the same time and destroy you,” Mei said lightly with a dark shimmer in her eyes.

“So spare me the wisdom.” Sakura's blood ran hot and cold at the same time as she was pulled closer to the power running through the woman's veins. Automatically, her own aura pushed through her skin and mingled with the aura, rubbing against Mei's much like a cat might.

With a wave of her hand, she guided the three of them down the edge of a cliff and onto the beach below. Other then the sea to their left and rock to their right, there was nothing else in sight. In a slow, almost languid movement, Mei drew her katana and Sakura quickly followed suit, lacking all of the Terumi's elegance but brimming with excitement instead.

No one signalled the start of their spar. One moment they were having a stand-off, Mei facing Ao, Sakura staring down an unfazed Utakata. The next, all hell broke loose.

Water, flames, bubbles, lava all mixed with the clangs of steel meeting steel. Sakura instantly lost sight of Mei but didn't panic. She _felt_ her. Whether the woman pushed back Ao or went toe to toe with an already partially merged Utakata, Sakura always knew precisely where she was at any given time. Their heartbeats were perfectly aligned, the rhythm in which they drew breath exactly the same. Mei's red-blue aura tore across the landscape, disappeared beneath the waves, crashed into the cliff, raced across the sand and exploded in all the countless shades of energy that ached to be released.

The entire experience of being in the eye of her storm was addictive, mesmerising, something Sakura couldn't put into words.

So entranced in her partner's magnificence, Sakura nearly took Utakata's fully formed chakra claw right into the face. Only instinct made her dodge the swipe in time. On her left, Mei's chakra flared brightly as Ao's world became engulfed in lava and Sakura forgot herself. Her own gates opened, her own brand of energy flooding her entire being, clouding her vision, consuming her. She was the rich teal and dark green to Mei's scorched red and deep blue.

Later, much later, when they were spent and resting on the warm sand with their backs leaning against a half-collapsed cliffside, Sakura wouldn't be able to recall what exactly had happened during that spar.

Right now, all that mattered was that she had turned into a tempest of her own. She longed for Mei's closeness and sped towards her colourful blur, dancing around her violence while letting go of her own. Isobu sat in her head, keeping her head clear and away from the madness, the hunger, the rage. The only rush he couldn't stop was the euphoria. She had never fought with her like this before. Never seen her like this.

Together they took Ao out of the fight with disgusting ease, then turned towards Utakata. Layer upon layer of chakra covered his form, claws sharp, teeth bared. Mei set the world on fire. Sakura drowned it. The lava moved around the water, curled around Sakura's streams, moved without ever touching. Utakata churned through Saiken's chakra, had no opportunity to attack, was forced on the defence from the moment they had looked at him.

Once Sakura merged with Isobu, it was her who tore into the jinchuuriki and launched him into the open sea. He didn't come up and that should have been the end of it. Until Mei faced Sakura.

“Do your worst,” she mocked her, voice twisted and entirely unnatural, like her eyes which were so dark the green was barely visible anymore. Sakura growled, bared her teeth, and didn't notice how her own darkened just as much. A brief flash of magenta lit up her consciousness, but she easily batted it aside. This was stronger. So, _so_ much stronger.

Their blades crashed into each other, leaving behind a trail of sparks in the sand each time they met. Sakura took refuge in the sea when lava threatened to engulfed her body, summoned the tides and sent them hurtling towards Mei. With a dismissive wave of her hand, the Terumi collapsed the towering waves and commanded the water for herself. Needles rained down upon Sakura who pushed Isobu's chakra past her skin and bid it to harden into an impenetrable carapace.

Once the deadly rain receded, Sakura drew her two tanto and went close once more. Mei matched her every move, effortlessly, as if she had done so for centuries. Nothing Sakura could do wasn't met by an equal action. Not even what she had learned during those foreign flashes of instinct helped her. Wherever she went, Mei was there. Wherever she struck, Mei's katana already parried. Wherever she fled, Mei waited for her. An invisible thread tied them together and it was the Terumi that pulled the string.

In a last ditch effort, Sakura dropped her weapons and came at her with nothing but her fists. Isobu was starting to lag behind. Their jutsu had been grandiose, their chakra spent freely. She didn't have much left to give. With one final roar, Sakura formed her hands into claws, her teeth into fangs, her ferocity into a weapon.

Mei stood in front of her and didn't move but a mere second before she could crash into her, the Terumi reached for Sakura's face and placed the tips of her fingers onto her temples.

“ _Hey... do you think we'll be here forever? Together, like this?”_

“ _All things come to an end eventually. So will you and I.”_

“ _But... I'll miss you...”_

“ _We will meet again. I'll find you.”_

_“Promise?”_

“ _Promise.”_

With a snap, time resumed and space returned and Sakura found herself slack in the woman's arms. Harsh rain poured down on their thoroughly drenched forms as every breath formed a small cloud in front of her face. Sakura weakly raised her head and stared at the underside of Mei's pointed chin before becoming aware of her surroundings.

The entire area was devastated. Half the cliff had collapsed and turned into rubble, cluttering the beach and even the shallow water. The beach itself was split in two, separated by a glaring furrow so deep Sakura couldn't see the bottom of it. Wide stretches of sand had molten and turned into planes of glass with traces of obsidian clearly visible. Someone had created an entirely new lake further inland, past the ruined cliffside.

“In hindsight I shouldn't have asked them to go easy on us,” Mei murmured thoughtfully as she watched Utakata claw his way out of the ocean and back onto land. He looked as much of a drowned rat as Ao who appeared to be unconscious a few feet away, mysteriously spared by all of the destruction around him.

“Thank you,” Sakura murmured and when Mei gently pat her head, couldn't help leaning even closer to her, basking in everything that made this woman who she was.

One day before their delegation set off towards Konoha, Mei called Sakura into her office.

“We leave early in the morning so I have about twelve hours to teach you about the departure rites.” Sakura raised her brows as she stood in front of the woman's desk. Culture lessons had been few and far in between, the gap in Sakura's knowledge vast. She had fifteen years to make up for and with Mei being her only teacher, some lessons had fallen to the wayside.

“It's our duty as founding clans of our village to perform them. The actual ceremony will take place moments before we begin our journey.” The thought of having to put on any sort of performance in front of a group of people didn't sit well with Sakura. Her unease must have shown on her face as Mei tutted disapprovingly and wagged her finger at her.

“It's our sacred duty, Karatachi-chan and you will follow tradition.” And that was that, apparently. Sakura kept guard until the sun went down. Then, she accompanied Mei to oversee last minute preparations and soon enough found herself in her bed. For the first time in over a year she would be returning to Konoha, changed and oh so different from when she had left it.

Quietly, in the privacy to her room, she looked towards the sea and spoke a quiet prayer for Mei's safety.

The Terumi roused her from an uneasy sleep hours later. The sun hadn't risen yet though the sky was slowly turning from black to various shades of blue and purple. Sakura blinked and yawned, then allowed the older woman to drag her into her study where she handed Sakura a light bundle of cloth.

“You will wear these and bring your gear and armour with you to the ritual site. Afterwards, we'll get changed and depart.” Sakura accepted her Mizikage's decree with a sluggish nod and awkwardly got out of her nightwear and slipped into the white airy robes. They turned out to be a lot more revealing than she'd initially suspected, showed off the entirety of her torso safe for a thin wrap to cover her chest.

Mei's robes looked the same except they were all black and slightly longer, trailing behind her while Sakura's hem cut off at her ankles. A few minutes of sealing her armour, clan trappings, weapons and general supplies into a scroll later, Sakura followed the older woman out of the compound, across the village and to the shores adjacent to Mizu's major port hub. The wide stretch of sand was deserted, the two of them the only living souls around.

“We each have a blessing to give,” Mei began her explanation, radiating enough warmth to keep Sakura from shivering in the harsh winds. The single layer of chiffon did nothing to insulate her own body heat.

“I provide the promise of guidance and protection,” she spoke, single finger drawing a single curved line into the sand, an exact replica of one of the four waves scratched into Kiri's headbands.

“You provide the promise of strength and victory.” The first wave was joined by another, both running horizontally to Mei's bare feet.

“We apply the blessings with our own blood, mixed with the salt of the ocean. I draw my symbol on their foreheads first, then you place yours beneath mine. It symbolises our joined leadership over Mizu's kin, your ferocity tempered and directed by my will.” Mei led Sakura a little further down the coast until they arrived at a tiny cove, hidden by tall cliffs and sheltered from the weather. On an obsidian pedestal stood two clay bowls, one painted a faded blue, the other a dark green. Wordlessly Mei pulled a thin blade from her own pack and sliced open her palm, allowing her blood to fill the blue bowl.

Sakura copied the older woman, then followed her to the edge of the water where they each dipped their bowls into the sea until the mixture was half water, half blood.

“There's no need for you to talk. Holding the ceremony itself is my obligation.” A large weight left Sakura's shoulders and she carefully placed her bowl next to Mei's.

It didn't take long for the first members of their delegation to show up. Everyone but the youngest of them didn't spare them a second glance after bowing for their kage. Sakura wondered how many times they had gone through this and who had taken her role in the total absence of Karatachi.

“It has been ten years since we were last able to bless our people,” Mei murmured quietly and Sakura felt the woman's sorrow in her own soul. A long time indeed, for the people of the sea to go without her mercy. Soon enough, Sakura spotted Ao and Chojuro arrive at the scene together, followed by Junji and his chosen ANBU squad. The swordsmen would stay behind to watch over the village while they were gone and receive their own blessings.

Just as the sun started creeping over the horizon and set the ocean aglow in vivid yellows and oranges, the last of their group had arrived. Sakura ignored the urge to fidget at the sheer amount of eyes on her exposed and vulnerable form. Few of these people liked her, even fewer trusted the granddaughter of the man who had bathed his own village in blood. Now, clad in little more of a hint of clothing and standing next to Mei as the sunrise set their hair on fire, they seemed... wary. Uncertain. No longer outright distrustful. It unsettled her.

“As we leave the borders of our sacred homeland,” Mei addressed the women and men in front of her, all of which went to their knees and lowered their heads in supplication.

“We ask our mother to bless our journey, safeguard us from those who wish us harm, grant us the strength to vanquish those who wish to oppose us.” The assembly murmured their assent before getting to their feet one after another an approaching the pedestal. Junji was the first, serious and solemn in a way Sakura had never seen him before.

“May she keep you safe,” Mei spoke lowly as she dipper a finger into her bowl and drew her symbol onto the ANBU commander's forehead. He lowered his eyes, moved his hand to his chest and accepted the blessing. Then, he moved in front of Sakura who hesitantly copied the Terumi's gesture, before biting her lip and adding:

“May she keep you strong.” Junji's eyes sparkled as he raised his gaze to look into her face and Sakura felt the wave of approval radiating from the female next to her. She wasn't quite sure what had come over her but the words had felt simply right.

The sun climbed higher as she and Mei applied blessing after blessing, almost emptying their bowls. Not everyone who had come today would follow them to Konoha. The majority would stay behind to protect the village and its civilians. They had come for the ritual nevertheless. After the last person had come before them, Mei turned to face Sakura, dipped two fingers into the bowl and raised her hand. Her eyes widened as she froze, unsure of what was about to follow.

“I bless you, child of the sea, terror to my peace, calm to my storm. May she shield you and one day, bring you back to me no matter how far apart we are.” Something in Sakura's mind clicked and fell in place as Mei painted a single half circle onto her forehead, then drew her fingers downwards, over the bridge of her nose, the middle of her lip and chin, only stopping once she reached Sakura's throat.

Her hands moved without her consent, fingers dipping into her own bowl only to gently rest upon the woman's forehead. Mechanically and with all the grace of someone who had done this many, many times before, Sakura drew a mirrored version of her own symbol onto the woman's face, lingering once her nails slightly scratched the Terumi's bare throat.

“...I bless you, keeper of mine. May she empower you and one day, lead me back into your shadow.” Sakura didn't know where those words had come from, whispered them into the wind, meant for Mei's ears alone.

“One day,” the woman repeated, followed by Sakura echoing her. Her fingers slid off the Terumi's skin and once Sakura lost contact, found back to herself. Blinking rapidly in confusion, she forcefully wrenched her gaze from Mei's dark eyes and looked at the quiet, patiently waiting assembly instead. The swordsmen and village guardians had already left, leaving behind Junji, his ANBU, the two genin teams they were entering as well as one team of chuunin led by a jounin who signed up as their third genin team just to keep an eye on the young ones.

“Ready to depart, Mizukage-sama,” Junji declared with a fist over his heart, face hidden by his crimson mask.

“Very well. We will meet you at the docks shortly,” Mei declared. Following her dismissal, the shinobi shot off and left the two of them behind at the shore.

“You did an exemplary job,” the woman then praised Sakura while cleansing their bowls with a minor water jutsu and washing her bloodied palm. Sakura mutely followed her lead before crouching down to rummage through her pack. They didn't speak much as they changed, Sakura into her usual getup of muted colours, teal clan trappings and slim body armour. Mei had braided her hair earlier this morning and woven a single blue silk ribbon through the pink strands. Fastening her own mask to her face, Sakura turned around to catch a glimpse of Mei's radically altered getup.

Gone was the dress, replaced by a mesh shirt underneath her own set of body armour, covered up by swathes of blue silk that were draped over both her shoulders and held together by a dark belt around her waist. The silk fell to her knees, giving the appearance of a skirt that, as opposed to Sakura's, didn't open at the front but to the side instead. Her clan katana was strapped to her back, hair braided in a style similar to Sakura's own except longer and worlds more intricate. Her boots were still the same, heeled and sturdy, shins and arms protected by thin metal guards.

She looked every bit the regal and dignified warrior she was.

“Ready?” Mei asked before placing the kage hat on top of her head.

“Ready,” Sakura replied and shot off after the woman, sticking close to her keeper.

It was time. They were going to Konoha.

“ _Please... please, talk to me!”_

“ _I- I'm... sorry...”_

“ _You can't just leave me!”_

“ _It's only... for... a few... years...”_

“ _But I-”_

“ _Shhh... it'll be... alright.”_

“ _But I can't live without you!”_

“ _I... will... find... you...”_

“ _P-promise?”_

“ _...pro...mise...”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, for the few people who are still with me, Konoha! Yay! 
> 
> On another note, I scrapped the brackets extension of the title because I started to hate it and Into the Depths is much more concise. Also cleaned up my tags a little.
> 
> Also not sure this needs mentioning, but Mei and Sakura are still very much platonic and will stay that way. They're not a couple and will never be.


	12. Act II: Part IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura learns about her ancestry, the history of her people and catches a glimpse of what lies behind Mei's carefully crafted mask. 
> 
> Konoha awaits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANNOUNCEMENT: I have fanart now! Check the bottom of chapter 8 for some seriously amazing art made by Chipichanga for this fic!
> 
> I know I promised Konoha but well, things happened. Enjoy the chapter nevertheless. :)
> 
> @Faith: Thank you! I'll do my best. :)  
> @Boycottlove: I'm glad you liked the fight. I went for imagery and emotion instead of clear descriptions and am glad to hear it worked. And yeah, Chojuro really gets the short end of the stick during those boot camp sessions.  
> @3BlindCats: Thank you! Good to hear you enjoy the cultural aspects because I'm really getting started on the heavier worldbuilding now.  
> @I_should_be_doing_something_else: Good to hear you like Junji! OC's are tricky but I did my best to make him work with the story and include him into the existing cast.  
> @FifteenBadgers: I love you and you know it. You're the best. <3  
> @Fireman1246: Thank you! I will keep updating don't worry. I don't leave anything unfinished.  
> @Queen_off_Sweaters: Ouh, thank you! I'm glad you like my fic.  
> @Stella_The_Person: Thank you very much for the compliments! Descriptive scenes are hard since English is not my first language and my vocabulary is lacking so I am very excited to hear that you still enjoy my efforts. :)

Sakura breathed in the salty fresh air of the sea and relaxed against the railing. Their ship drifted across the ocean, bobbing and weaving in a calm rhythm that made her close her eyes. Sakura had never been one for boats or craftsmanship in general yet as her hand rested on polished, slightly chipped wood, she had to admit that this one was a thing of beauty.

Upon arriving at the harbour, they had been greeted by a vessel of epic proportions, decorated with gilded waves, and creatures of the deep carved into the hull. The daimyo's personal travel ship. A small number of envoys had waited for them, welcomed Mei and offered them to board the vessel almost immediately. Amenities would be provided as well as entertainment for the journey. Mei had declined graciously, yet firmly. They weren't on a cruising trip after all. Later, she had confided in Sakura that she and the daimyo had a long history of courtship and declined marriage proposals. She could not be bought, the older woman had claimed. Her place was not by his side.

After the daimyo's men took off, Mei instead led them further down the shore, past the main hub until they stopped at a smaller set of rickety pairs in various states of disrepair. Sakura had raised her brows at the Mizukage who had merely smiled secretively before beckoning her to follow. The planks beneath her feet creaked and groaned with every step she took yet held surprisingly firm. A thick morning mist obscured Sakura's vision and as they made their way further down the pier and deeper into the ocean, it only thickened. She stuck close to Mei and concentrated on the red of her hair in order not to lose sight of the woman.

Eventually, they reached the end of the line. And waited. Nobody seemed concerned about the oddity of the situation except for the six genin nervously whispering while shuffling their feet at the rear of the group. Junji perched on a wooden post that rose a little higher above the water than the others, hair gently swaying in the wind, face hidden by the crimson of his mask. For a long time there was no sound beyond the quiet lapping of the waves against the stilts of the pier. Sakura watched Mei who merely stared into the open sea as if she could see something the rest of them didn't.

She didn't know for how long they waited, but eventually her ears picked up something else that sounded like a heavy body making its way through the waves, steady and slow. The fog parted to reveal the tip of a spear crafted from dark wood with metal plating lining the outsides. Bit by bit, the spear poked through the mist until it merged with a thick wall of planks, bent into the shape of a hull. Their mode of transportation had arrived. And it was nothing like Sakura had expected.

In some ways, the ship looked like it might fall apart any second. The wood's colour had long since faded, the sails themselves were a little torn in places and no longer the royal blue Sakura assumed they had been once upon a time. Yet somehow, it still held itself together and Mei confidently stepped on the plank after the crew lowered it onto the pier.

Most of the women and men were old, much older than Sakura had thought seasoned sailors tended to be. Their faces were wrinkled, eyes bleary and slightly sunken into their skulls, a pale film covering their irises. They still followed Sakura's every move, watchful and alert in a way that made her feel uneasy. Everyone else apart from Mei and Sakura was ignored. As for Mei herself, she gave the crew a single nod which prompted them to raise their fists to their chests before bowing lowly. Lower than even standard ANBU, Sakura noted belatedly and tried not to show her unease. The entire situation felt like one of those moments where everyone but her knew what was happening. Junji wasn't fazed, much like his subordinates. Their fake genin team watched their step yet showed no reaction besides that. Only the genin teams were in a similar state, though much more obvious.

If the vessel had a captain, Sakura didn't meet them. Without speaking a single word, Mei left the deck and walked through a door, then down a flight of stairs into the very bowels of the ship. The interior was much like the exterior, aged in a functional and somewhat... regal manner. Despite its first appearance, the vessel held a kind of dignity Sakura had only seen once before; in the woman that led Sakura to an unknown destination, navigating the boat with the ease of someone who was familiar with it. She chose not to ask any questions.

“Your room,” Mei had said after stopping in front of another door right next to an identical one with the only difference being the symbols carved into the door frame. Sakura's prominently featured crescent moons, wavy lines and two armed sirens flanking each side of the door itself. The other room, Mei's, showed traces of gilding that long since peeled off the wood. A full moon rested proudly on top of the frame, high above waves and various deep sea creatures that became more fearsome and ghastly the closer the carvings were to the floor.

Sakura swallowed quietly. Her hand shook as she reached up to touch the wood and gain entry into her room, yet when her palm came to a rest on the door, nothing happened. She wasn't sure why she had expected a reaction. It wasn't like the vessel was alive and could object to her presence.

Tearing herself out of her funk, Sakura deposited her pack on the single chair next to a surprisingly well-kept bed. The covers were the same teal of her clan trappings and she chose to dismiss the fact as simple coincidence. She vowed not to enter Mei's room and have her suspicions regarding the colour scheme confirmed. Sakura could only do so much to ignore her own restless mind.

Soon after, she felt the ground beneath her feet sway and realised the vessel had set off. Back when Sakura had journeyed to Kiri for the first time in her life, the trip had taken two days. Ships couldn't match the speed of a shinobi but genin weren't allowed, or able, to cross the ocean on foot. She clearly remembered the lack of possible activity when confined to a small ship, and so decided to take a nap. Sakura hadn't slept much the night prior, too busy being educated by Mei, then worrying about the ceremony.

Mei's symbol was still on her skin, the blood long since dried and a little itchy. She refused to wash it off and so did everyone else. They would be gone by the time they reached Konoha. Mei's appearance in fighting garbs would raise enough eyebrows. Sakura was fairly sure that Kiri kept her traditions and customs close to her chest and felt in no particular mood to explain any of them to the leaf ninja.

Hours later, she woke to the absolute silence in her room. Sakura remembered a jolly crew, sailors handling their vessel, cleaning the deck, yelling and shouting at each other. This was nothing like her memories. Rolling out of bed, she made a half-hearted effort to fix her hair, then gave up on it. Sakura left through the door and stopped briefly. Not a single sound. No scurrying mice, no rowdy sea men, no orders yelled on deck. Nothing but the steady creaking of ancient wood and the gentle waves of the ocean.

She shuddered with every step she took, intimidated and... humbled by the ghostly atmosphere. She passed another set of rooms, felt Junji's aura inside one of them, mellow and idle. He was sleeping. Sakura climbed the steps and took a deep breath, relishing in the salty smell. A small handful of sailor went about their tasks with the same apathetic and lifeless energy they had excuded hours ago. Something was deeply, terribly wrong with these women and men but unless Mei asked her to, she would not pry. Sakura was too cautious to disturb lingering echoes.

They didn't mind her, ignored her actually, so Sakura walked over to the railing and rested her elbows on the worn construct. The moon rested high up in the sky. Crescent. She gazed up at the sickle-shaped celestial body, thoughts adrift much like the ship itself. It moved on its own with no obvious force to propel it, no oars, nothing to guide it. A shadow stood tall and straight at the helm, one arm resting casually on the steering wheel. Sakura itched to move closer and inspect or perhaps even greet the captain, but something in the depths of her mind warned her not to. Curiosity killed cats and it could kill Sakura if she didn't exercise great caution.

She wasn't sure how much time she spent on her own, merely staring at the horizon, inky black sky and the way the water's surface reflected the moon's bright white light. She could spend an eternity right here, exactly like this, Sakura thought and didn't notice the way the shadow's head tilted and moved in her direction.

“Can't sleep?” Flinching heavily, Sakura was torn from the spell she had been under and whirled around to come face to face with a bemused Mei. Her hair was still in the same braid, though slightly unkempt and a little loose in some places. She would have to fix it before they arrived in Konoha. Sakura had watched her braid it, the way her hands moved fast and incredibly sure of themselves, shaping those nigh endless waves of auburn hair in the most intricate pattern she had ever laid eyes on. When asked, the woman had replied that it was a habit she had acquired from an ancestor. Sakura had replied with a nod and murmured 'Terumi clan habits.' Mei hadn't disagreed, yet stilled for the briefest of moments. Sakura hadn't noticed, then.

“I'm not tired anymore.” The metal guards and body armour had been removed from the Terumi's outfit, leaving behind little more than a mesh undershirt and long, flowing waves of royal blue silk. The look was drastically different from the dress Mei tended to wear on a day to day basis. Somehow, this style suited her much better.

Wordlessly, the older woman joined her against the railing, rested her elbows on the wood and her chin on folded hands. Content with the lack of communication, Sakura closed her eyes. She hadn't enjoyed her first journey by ship much but this one was... pleasant. Nice. Soothing, almost. In a way she couldn't explain and didn't care to. No matter how haunted and eerie this ship and its cursed crew were, the nigh constant restlessness of Sakura's mind and body quieted down, settled somewhere deeper within her rather than brimming just beneath her skin.

At some point, Mei started humming. It began so quiet, snuck up on Sakura, that she didn't register it at first. It was mere background noise, a barely noticeable addition to the ambient sounds of the ship and the waves. The soft melody felt natural and familiar. By the time Sakura noticed it was coming from the woman beside her, she had already begun humming along. Mei didn't look at her, bright emerald eyes still focused on the sea and whatever she was hoping to find beyond it. Just then, her rosy lips parted and in the stillness of the night, the hum turned into something more.

“There's a voice  
carrying across the sea,  
a sad and lonely echo  
my mother told to me.”

Sakura blinked once as the woman began to sing, more a hushed whisper than a chant, her voice heavy with emotion. She'd never heard her sing before. Mei's voice wasn't very high-pitched by design, instead low and steady, warm and deep like her lava and her water. Sakura had always, from the day they first met, loved the sound.

“It speaks of days long past,  
of a city in ruins,  
the beast of fire,  
the fall of two moons.”

She remembered the carvings in their door frames, and for a single second saw Mei's eyes flicker, pupils expanding into an endless expanse of darkness.

“Long ago they thrived,  
the children of the sea,  
led by their queen of queens,  
vicious and strong and free.”

Something tugged at her insides, poked her memory, gently moved pieces in place and built bridges over the numerous gaps inside her own mind.

“Then the phoenix rose,  
born from embers and ash,  
swept across the lands of her people,  
hope lost in a mere flash.”

Heavy sorrow trickled into the Terumi's voice, and Sakura could have sworn the waves roiled just a little wilder.

“Tall she stood, brave and fierce,  
wielding her weapons of blood and steel,  
alone against this bird of death,  
willing to die, refusing to kneel.”

She could see it in front of her mind's eye, a tall figure dressed in dark silks with heavy jewellery resting around her neck and arms, sword raised high in the air and set alight by the unholy inferno flying towards her.

“She cried in pain, wounded deep,  
body failing, eyes losing their shine  
When another soul took up her sword,  
a young girl, the first of her line.”

A sharp ache raced through her body and hit her right in the chest, leaving her short on breath.

“The beast dived, swiped its claws,  
slashed at her face and left its mark,  
but she swung the blade, struck true,  
slew the bird and tore it apart.”

Searing flames engulfed her, burnt her skin, but she persevered and held onto the sword, burning bright with her own kind of fire.

“'Who are you', the queen asked,  
and the girl offered her hand and heart,  
bared her teeth and bowed her head,  
claimed she would follow her into the dark.”

Her hand automatically reached for Mei's, fingers entwined and squeezing them as if her life depended on it.

“Yet the city sank beneath the waves,  
lost to history, forgotten by all but few,  
swallowed by the ocean who claimed her own,  
the only survivors the children of the two.”

She remembered the deadness of Yumishima, the place where nothing would grow even centuries later, the island of ghosts, final resting place of their ancestral home.

“They crawled to the shore,  
weeping for the future they lost,  
left the ruins and moved south,  
forging their bond despite the cost.”

Black, green and magenta, red and pink, hand in hand, together forever.

“And their voices carry to this day,  
this they preach, this their decree:”

Mei's voice faded to a whisper, little more than a breath of air. Her lips moved yet Sakura couldn't make sense of them and so the last words of the woman's beautiful yet haunting tale were lost to her. The sudden silence rang hollow in the aftermath of her song, and so Sakura didn't notice the wetness running down her cheeks until Mei gently brushed it aside. Whatever trance she had been caught in, slowly faded away along with the images and sensations she had experienced. The only trace they had ever existed in the first place, was the clear and vivid memory of two women, side by side, being each other's company as they breathed their last before being claimed by the sea like the rest of their city.

“The history of our people,” the Terumi murmured, face carefully blank. The low droop of her shoulders combined with the way her nails dug into the railing however, gave her away.

“Reduced to little more than a song.” Sakura's mouth was dry but she still forced herself to ask the question burning on the tip of her tongue.

“The queen and the girl...,” she began but trailed off at the look of sheer longing Mei sent her.

“Terumi and Karatachi.” Sakura's hands shook and she gulped audibly, averting her eyes to try and turn away from the emotion threatening to overwhelm her. Why did this affect her so? Mei's voice was a thing of beauty, an echo of days long past, carrying remnants of her ancestry that in those few precious moments, had turned her into something that transcended humanity, something ethereal, something _more_. She should be overjoyed. Not torn apart on the inside. It wasn't like her.

“Uzushio was our first enemy, long ago before they even had a name. Our ancestors were wild and violent but artists, worshippers of the sea, a faithful and devout people. War ran in our veins, bloodshed our offerings. We controlled the seas, were one with the ocean and all her creatures. Uzushio's fire... burns bright. Hotter than even my own lava. You've seen Yumishima. No life will ever find its way on that island again.” Sakura wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt before releasing a shaky breath and once again joining the older woman in front of the railing. The air had cooled down considerably and was brushing lovingly against her skin, playing with her braid, and giving her the faintest impression of a hug.

“We have always been at war, sometimes more, sometimes less. When we pushed against Uzushio, we gave it our all to finally rid ourselves of this eternal threat to our way of life. Your grandfather was a mere child when he went to the front lines and drowned half of Uzushio's southern district.” She hadn't known that. Mei had told her many things, all about the way Karatachi Yagura was deathly terrified of fire, how he had never liked redheads until he first met baby Mei, how he was so easy to fall into his rage because it had forged him in his youth. She had dropped these titbits on Sakura over the course of months, a story here, a small tale there. Unconnected, they made little sense. Yet now...

“He became a war hero, feared and loved by the entire village. His actions were what led to him being appointed as Yondaime Mizukage a few years later. We celebrated. We were free of the terror wrought by those who wield their godless flames.” Almost automatically, Sakura recalled Utakata's reaction to the red-haired shinobi they had run into. The way his anger had spiked with a sudden undertone she hadn't understood then. He had grown up with the stories of his origins, the history of Kiri's most sacred ancestors. What Sakura had smelled through the fury tempered only by his bijuu, had been fear.

“Just like the sea is our guardian, theirs is the oldest and mightiest of the phoenixes. There is no extinguishing them for good. Time and time again, they will rise from their own ashes and require sacrifice after sacrifice.” Sakura clenched her teeth and gripped the railing tightly. She had mistaken Mei's aggression and overeager preparation for simple caution when in truth they had been the actions of a woman who looked at history repeating itself and knew exactly what she was in for.

“Whoever called the refugees home has to be an Uzumaki, the first of the flamebearers, summoners of phoenixes, destroyers of worlds. Eternal enemies of the Terumi and the Karatachi.” Suddenly and without warning, she smelled the smoke and dust of a crumbling village, heard the screams and cries of children, felt the searing heat of fire on her skin, burning hotter than a thousand suns. She heard herself yell in anguish and fury, drew upon the power of Isobu and raised towering waves that swept through the village, razing down buildings, sacrificing her foes, feeding their flames to the sea who swallowed them greedily, accepting her tribute. When she saw her own reflection in the water she had summoned to claim this land for the sea, she was short, her hair was blonde, and her eyes a deep blank magenta.

“I never doubted that there was war on the horizon.” Mei's voice chilled Sakura to the bone, a far cry from the rich, multi-coloured bundle of emotions it had been mere moments ago. Now, every inch of the woman's being vibrated with endless and unfathomable wrath. She smelled of the sea now more so than ever before.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Sakura had never been curious before so she hadn't asked. During her academy days she had learned all about Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, the Great Wars. History had bored her since she had never felt all that connected to the place others called her home. And upon transferring to Kiri, other issues had quickly taken precedence over wondering about the ancient tales of her homeland.

“You were humming along. Didn't you notice?” Sakura stopped dead, breath caught in her throat. She... what?

“You look surprised,” Mei mused blithely, mustering the younger woman out of the corner of her eye.

“Our songs, traditions, practises... they run in our blood. Kiri's bloodlines do not dilute. How else do you think Kisame inherited his dual ancestry?” Her mouth snapped shut with an audible click. She had assumed Hoshigaki's unusual appearance was tied to a kekkei genkai. Not his DNA.

“Although the days where we freely mixed with the sea folk are a relic of the past, they are still a part of us. All of us.” Kiri's people rarely fell ill. Common ailings, such as colds or allergies were completely unheard of – except for a natural weakness to pollen and heavily forested areas. They liked to swim, naturally gravitated to large bodies of water, were able to hold their breath for truly extraordinary amounts of time. They swam faster, quickly learned how to conjure water instead of having to use existing sources...

How had she been so _blind_?

“It's not your fault. You were raised in a system that believes in little more than doujutsu and scientific progress. They see only what they wish to see. Your eyes are changing and adapting to the world around you, but it takes time. Some things I cannot teach you.” Mei turned to face Sakura and extended her left arm, placing her flat palm right where Sakura's heart beat loudly inside her chest.

“We all have our roles to play but you are not ready yet. You need to learn to listen to your heart, your blood, your instincts. Don't rely on what you assume to see in front of you.” She tapped Sakura's shawl once, pulled at the cloth and rubbed it between her fingers.

“Every day, you're getting a little closer to fulfilling your destiny,” she whispered into the darkness of the night and between once blink in the next, Sakura saw emerald once again fade to black, watched the natural sharpness of Mei's face become more pronounced, observed long nails grow even longer, skin lose colour and acquire a faint shimmer.

The next time Sakura closed her eyes for the fraction of a second, the image had returned to what she was used to. Peachy skin, aristocratic face, green eyes. Mei, who carefully followed Sakura's every move, smiled ever so slightly.

“Soon, my dear.” And with those parting words, she retreated back inside the ship, leaving Sakura with nothing but too many questions and too few answers. She raised a single hand to her face and rubbed her cheek, both relieved and unsettled when there was nothing more than warm, soft flesh.

She didn't go back to sleep that night.

The rest of the journey to the shores of Hills country went by peacefully and quietly. After that night on deck where Sakura had listened to Mei performing the Lament of the Sea – she had asked Junji for the title of the song and valiantly ignored how heavy his gaze had become as he answered her – she had kept her distance from the older woman. There was too much to think about, and Mei was a steady presence regardless. Sakura didn't need to know what the older woman's room looked like to know their beds were aligned so that their heads were separated by nothing but a thin wooden wall. She felt her too strongly to believe otherwise.

On the second day of their trip, Sakura ran into the genin. After snacking on a small bundle of provisions she had brought with her, Sakura had wandered onto the deck of the ship only to barge right into what seemed like a free for all. Three shuriken sailed right at her head but she sidestepped them gracefully and caught the weapons out of the air.

“K- Karatachi-sama!” one of the genin exclaimed loudly before bowing quickly, missing how Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

“I apologise! We are merely practising for the exams,” another boy added after bowing as well. A blade appeared out of thin air, aimed right for his neck. He squeaked in surprise and vaulted backwards, drawn into a dual against one of the chuunin who would enter the exams disguised as simple genin.

“If you can stop to chat, I'm clearly not training you hard enough.” Team One's jounin sensei had to be a passing acquaintance of Ao's. The tall bulky male had his arms crossed in front of his chest while glowering at his students. Upon diverting his attention from the group for a moment to acknowledge Sakura instead, he gave a sharp gruff nod. The gesture made her insides warm and she wondered how one little ritual had been enough to improve people's naturally negative disposition towards her.

“Eiichi needs to watch his forms. The boy's a disaster with his clan katas,” the other jounin sensei pointed out casually to which sensei number one grunted in response.

“It's a miracle he knows which end of the sword to hold. He'd be better off focusing on suiton techniques. Katsumi, on the other hand-” Sakura tuned them out and made her way to the other end of the ship, carefully sidestepping the few sailors present on deck. None of them seemed to take offence to the six rowdy genin fighting two chuunin and a jounin, as well as each other. She wasn't quite sure if she imagined it but stray projectiles always seemed to change trajectory just in time to avoid damaging the vessel or anything on it. Trying to make sense of the ship was a road leading nowhere, so Sakura decided to give up. If nobody else worried, why should she?

“U- um... Karatachi-s-sama?” She blinked slowly before tearing her gaze off the open sea. To her left stood a girl that only barely reached Sakura's shoulders and had to be a few years younger than her. One of the genin from Team Two. Her eyes dropped low to the girl's hands which hung loosely by her sides. Every Kiri shinobi had faint scars criss-crossing their palms from daily kenjutsu practise. This one didn't.

“I- I'm sorry to bother you, but Tarou-sensei said to ask you for help with my suiton jutsu,” the girl explained nervously and Sakura stared. Her silence appeared to rattle the genin who looked off to the side while wringing her hands.

“I am not qualified to be a teacher.” She didn't know what else to say and had spoken the truth after all. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the girl's sensei whose attention was still on the large scale fight happening on the deck.

“He... he said that I think too much. And need to rely on my instincts more. A- Apparently you're good at that s- so I thought...” Sakura blinked again, barely able to believe that someone was actually approaching her for help. She didn't know anyone outside of Mei, Junji, Utakata, Ao and by proxy, Chojuro. When had anyone else ever had the time to arrive at the conclusion that she was well-suited to aiding genin with their natural instincts?

' _Take the olive branch for what it is._ ' Isobu's sudden voice startled her. He'd been unnaturally quiet lately, little more than a faint echo in her mind.

' _You learned to calm down. You don't feel my influence anymore since you stopped fighting it._ ' She... had, hadn't she. Sakura had barely noticed that lately it had been easier for her to fall into a somewhat steady rhythm that kept her mind on track and feelings in check.

' _Unless others, in their infinite wisdom, decide to wear you down until you can barely stand. Stay close to your keeper. She does more for you than you realise._ ' For a mere moment, Sakura pondered what life would be like without having multiple voices in her head. Although at this point, she would probably end up missing the sanbi. The turtle snorted.

“Ah... Karatachi-sama...?” Oh. Realising that she had spaced out and left the genin to squirm, Sakura decided to listen to Isobu and prayed that she wouldn't regret it later.

“Sit down,” she commanded before settling down on the wooden planks in a standard meditative pose. Belatedly, Sakura remembered that Mei had declared her a supplementary trainer in addition to her function as bodyguard. The girl did as she asked, copying Sakura almost perfectly.

“Make some water.” Not deterred by Sakura's brusque mannerisms, the genin furrowed her brows, formed her hands into the standard shape for water needles. Two of them were acceptable, Sakura noted as they shot out from her hands, off the ship and beyond. The third dissolved in her lap.

“Use more chakra.” The results were the same. Unfortunately, Sakura's capabilities as instructor had already reached their limit. Seeing as Hatake had focused on her kenjutsu, what little suiton she had been capable of using, had come to her naturally. Later, Junji and Mei had refined her techniques, given her pointers that improved her technique and execution immensely. All those lessons had been on a level far above the basics Sakura had never truly studied.

' _The jutsu is designed for three needles. It's part of the formula. The child needs to stop focusing on drawing chakra for exactly three needles and instead simply draw the required amount of chakra as a whole._ ' Well. If anyone had to know, it would most likely be the sanbi that had sat through generations of young Karatachi studying the mechanics of suiton jutsu. Repeating his words aloud, Sakura wasn't all that surprised when after three consecutive tries, the genin finally got it right.

“I- It worked! Thank you, Karatachi-sama!” Sakura leaned back slightly before getting off the ground and back onto her feet.

“It was Isobu's idea,” she replied, not about to take credit for the chakra turtle's effort. If the rumble of his chakra was anything to go by, he was both exasperated and pleased by her decision.

“Um... thank you, sanbi-sama.” The girl delivered a quick, yet clean bow before scurrying off. Sakura needed a moment or two to process her words, then sighed and rubbed her temples. The first thing she'd do after they properly arrived in Konoha was hide in Mei's shadow and never speak a single word to anyone else.

' _This child respects me. Her parents raised her well._ ' Sakura quietly wondered where Isobu fit in Kiri's history. Senju Hashirama had given him and Saiken to an already established Kirigakure roughly three hundred years ago. Disasters like the kyuubi attack had never befallen Kiri and they had less reason to despise or fear their bijuu. Sakura had been shunned for her resemblance to her grandfather, not due to being a jinchuuriki. Utakata was generally accepted despite his surly personality.

' _I guard the heirs and heads of your family. Your ancestors blessed me. Before I was sent to sleep and Yagura lost control of his own mind, I received my own prayers._ ' Sakura placed a single hand over the seal on her stomach, hidden behind cloth and armour. They hadn't always seen eye to eye and Isobu hadn't been with Sakura for long, yet still she felt he deserved better. He had been stuck inside her grandfather's head, unaware of what happened to the world around him before waking in his box, without jinchuuriki, without his friend and charge.

“Teach me your prayers,” she murmured quietly, voice drowned by the furious clashing of steel, yelling of jutsu and shrieks of surprise all around her. Isobu was silent for a long time and Sakura didn't know how long she stood there, motionless, in an oddly uncharacteristic show of patience.

' _Very well, young Karatachi,_ ' the sanbi rumbled slowly, suddenly heavy and there, like a protective shell around her mind, guarding, watching, soothing.

' _It is only right. You are a priestess, after all._ '

“I am?” she asked, as she climbed on top of a storage barrel partially hidden behind the sails and placed her hands on the railing before resting her chin on top of them, watching the waves and staring into the water as if it held all the answers she was looking for.

' _You will be._ ' He sounded confident in his statement, as if it was just another simple fact of life. Sakura remembered being controlled by her own instincts as she painted her symbol on Mei's face and blessing her people and how easy it had come to her. Maybe he had a point. If this was to be her fate, Sakura wouldn't fight it.

' _It has been too long since I was last by your side._ ' She furrowed her brows, about to open her mouth to ask what he meant, before... stopping. Did she truly need clarification? Her entire being agreed with the sentiment, part of her even longed to return it. What was it that Mei told her, mere hours ago?

Konoha had taught her to study the world through the lens of her eyes. Kiri was trying to teach her to walk blind and have faith in her instincts guiding her to where she was meant to go. Perhaps now, as she returned to the place where she grew up, the time to let go of the last remnants of her upbringing had finally come.

Sakura ended up never asking Isobu to explain himself. It wouldn't have been right.

“Look alive. We're close to the mainland.” Sakura looked up from where she was resting on a bundle of thick ropes connecting one part of the sail to the mast. Junji was balancing on a thinner rope to her left, mask attached to his belt, much like Sakura's.

“Mizukage-sama wants to see you,” he added before saluting with a wink and disappearing without a trace. Dratted shadow clones. Rolling to the side, Sakura let herself fall until she landed on the deck in a crouch. There wasn't much to do on a ship ride and she had spent the time getting plenty of rest to stock up on energy for the most dangerous part of their journey. If anyone were to ambush them, they would do it while they were on foot in the forest, outside of their natural habitat where they were forced to fight among the trees.

After two days, the crew didn't bother her much anymore. They moved and went about their responsibilities like ghosts without interacting with anyone but their captain who seemed to wordlessly communicate with Mei. She stopped staring at them and treated them with the same indifference they showed her. Sometimes Sakura could've sworn that their hollow and milky eyes followed her. After trying and failing to catch them in the act, Sakura had given up.

Shaking her head to concentrate on the journey ahead, she made her way to the other end of the ship where Mei was bowed over a map, surrounded by Junji, his four masked ANBU and the three jounin.

“We will cut a direct route through Hills into Fire country. We have two days if we wish to arrive early; which I do,” Mei stated curtly while drawing her finger across the map, tapping along the marked roads.

“Konoha expects us on the 6th. We're going to show up in front of their gates on the 4th.” Mei had explained her reasons for that during the early planning stages. Just in case, she had said. Handing Uzushio's oldest ally the information concerning their whereabouts was foolish. It was better to catch them off guard. Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that, on top of that, Mei still remembered Konoha keeping Sakura from her for over seven years.

“Do you wish to travel via the main road or take to the trees, Mizukage-sama?” the jounin-sensei who had sent his student to her for help, asked.

“Stick to the roads. Our genin already slow us down. Should we get ambushed during our travels, they will be even more vulnerable when attempting to concentrate on navigating forests.” The older woman went on to describe the formation they would assume. Sakura and Junji would lead their group with Mei between and two steps behind them. After her, came the three chuunin, followed by two rows of genin. Their block was to be flanked by their four ANBU agents while the three jounin-sensei brought up the rear.

“They won't attempt to go for any of our high profile targets. It's the children they're after,” Mei spoke grimly and Sakura thought of the chuunin and genin that had been attacked and slaughtered in Hi no Kuni. Uzushio was picking off their weak spots, their young ones, the future of their people. She didn't notice she had begun growling until Junji gently poked her side with his elbow.

“Prepare to leave in less than ten minutes. The ship doesn't travel much closer to the shore. Make sure to attach yourselves to one genin each and take your allergy shots before you set off.” With a sharp nod, the jounin-sensei excused themselves to take care of their charges. Sakura came to a stand in front of their resident ANBU medic and pulled up the sleeve of her shirt to receive her own dosis of anti-pollen medicine. Now that she knew that her averse reaction to forest climates was an affliction most Kiri shinobi suffered from, the sight of the fellow ANBU and even Junji standing in line behind her, wasn't all that surprising anymore.

Behind her, one of the genin complained about getting poked by a needle only to receive a smack upside the head by one of the chuunin. Before they could descend into another wild brawl, Sakura pulled her rope wire from her pack and marched over there.

“I'm not even allergic, my mother was from Konoha you know-” one of the boys complained, only to be cut off by his fellow team member. The one who had bowed for Sakura. Eiichi.

“Shut up. Your father has clan blood, you'll be just as bad as the rest of us.” One of three girls tapped her chin in thought while squinting her eyes at the first speaker.

“Didn't he kill your mother when she wanted to go back to Konoha and take you with her?” Sakura raised her brows at such a casual comment, fully expecting the boy to retaliate. Surprisingly enough, all he did was squawk in response:

“Hey! It's rude to talk about that!” An open secret then, and not one anyone involved seemed to consider a touchy subject.

“Tch. No wonder the dolphins allied with that clan of yours,” Eiichi snorted. They kept on squabbling until Sakura reached their group. Two ANBU had already hooked their ropes into those of two female genin while the jounin were currently busy doing the same to the boys.

“You're with me,” Sakura declared quietly while stepping into the personal space of the girl who had sought her out for advice yesterday. Reaching down, she snapped her hook in place and tugged at the rope to make sure it held. Isobu liked that one. His judgement was one Sakura trusted, and besides no foreign shinobi would challenge them on the open sea. Doing so would be nothing more than glorified suicide. She could watch this girl until they reached the shore.

“Y- You don't have to-” She silenced the child with a single glare and Isobu rumbled in amusement. The rope would hold. Sakura was ready to depart and now only waited for Mei's signal. The almost blinding green of Hills' shores was well within eyesight, as vibrant and overwhelming as Sakura remembered it to be.

“...protect us, great guardian of Her Grace, bless us with your eternal strength of will and mind, grant us safe passage...” Sakura's ears barely picked up the nigh inaudible muttering of the girl she was connected to but cast a sideways glance at her nevertheless. A thin trail of blood ran down a small chunk of turtle shell she clutched between her cut fingers. Isobu's prayer, one of the various he had patiently taught her in the silent hours of the night.

' _A long time ago, I was worshipped by one of the turtle allied clans. The child looks familiar._ ' Sakura hummed quietly, patiently waited until the girl finished reciting her prayer, then turned to face her.

“What's your name?” she asked, startling the girl who quickly regained her composure and gently placed the bloodied shell fragment into a pocket just above her heart.

“Hamamura Kamenoko,” the genin replied meekly, eyes avoiding Sakura's.

' _Small turtle from the seashore village, hm? How appropriate._ ' She vividly felt Isobu linger just behind her eyes, heavily scrutinising the girl and Sakura wondered if the way his chakra fluttered and pulsed meant he approved. A sharp whistle rang out from behind her and Sakura automatically straightened.

“Genin first,” Tarou-san declared and one after another, the young shinobi vaulted over the railing of the boat to come to an unsteady rest on the thankfully calm waves below. A short moment later, Sakura landed next to Kamenoko just in time to grab her by her collar and prevent her from going under. Her fellow genin didn't do much better. Next, the two unattached ANBU quietly landed on the surface, followed by Junji, three chuunin and lastly, Mei herself.

“Goodbye, Captain Hiroshi!” Sakura's head snapped around with a loud crack and she almost dropped the girl back into the water. One of the boys waved at the now slowly retreating ship, looking up at the shadow resting against the railing-

Her vision warped and twisted, split into two separate images, one dark and heavy, the other bright and pale. Between one blink and the next, the ship was gone and replaced by an entirely different vessel. Gone were the aged craftsmanship, faded colours, ancient and foreboding air. Gone was the shadow that was the captain. Gone was the crew of husks. In their place, a modern and beautiful ship, state of the art, rowdy and sunny crew, tall captain with a wide smile and round belly. They waved and cheered, big all the young ones farewell.

A touch on her shoulder tore her from her thoughts, prompting her body to shudder violently, one hand already reaching for a tanto before she spotted rich blue silk and a thick auburn braid swaying gently in the breeze.

“Heart over head,” Mei murmured quietly, words meant for Sakura alone, before giving the order to get going. Heart over head, heart over head, heart over- She turned around to look for the ship one last time. Ancient. Sinister. Lifeless. A mere shadow of former glory. Sakura released a shaky breath as relief flooded her veins. Heart over head.

“R- Ren's an orphan. We teach him what we can, but... it takes time.” Realising that she still held onto the girl's collar, Sakura slowly released her and waited until she seemed steady enough to move. As they made their way towards the shore, painfully slowly and with more than just one interruption caused by almost drowning genin, Sakura asked herself what kind of jutsu was capable of such an intricate level of disguise. Then again, _was_ it actually a disguise? A genjutsu? Or actually, any sort of shinobi technique in the first place? Their clans and legacy preceded the era of shinobi, or at least Sakura was fairly certain they did. The ship held the same air of depth and darkness she saw whenever the lights around Mei shifted and dimmed ever so slightly, granting Sakura a glimpse of what laid beneath.

Something so old and eternal she longed to reach out and grasp it with her hands, bask in its glory, surrender to its compelling whispers. She wanted, wanted, _wanted_ -

“Thank you, Karatachi-sama. My water walking will be much improved on our journey home.” She hadn't even noticed that they were on solid ground. Blinking, then shaking her head, Sakura unhooked herself from the genin and rolled up the wire rope.

“Formation,” the jounin-sensei whose name Sakura didn't know barked at the girl in front of her who obeyed instantly. Putting on her mask, Sakura took her position in front and slightly to the right of Mei with Junji taking the spot on the other side. And then they were off.

The pace itself was dreadfully slow. Perhaps Sakura had been spoiled by ANBU missions and nigh infinite jinchuuriki stamina but oh, she felt as if she was running across sticky mud and had to drag her feet. She tried not to show her annoyance but she could've sworn she heard Mei chuckle at some point during their trek through Hills country. In an effort to chase away the feeling of restlessness, Sakura tapped into Isobu's connection and extended her senses. While he did grant her minor sensing abilities, both range and accuracy were greatly diminished outside a partially merged state.

' _They call it sensing when all they do is listen for the life and energy around them._ ' Mei's aura flared hot and cold behind her, vast and powerful to the point of making her dizzy if she concentrated on it for too long. Junji's to her left was icy and sharp, like the coldest of winters, a sharp contrast to the warmth of the air around her.

The others were harder to pin down. One of the ANBU felt especially salty, like ocean water that had been left out to evaporate, leaving behind nothing but concentrated sea salt. Another held an interesting minty note, sharp and fresh and after a while Sakura recognised her as the medic. None of the chuunin or genin held signatures that were developed enough for her meagre abilities to differentiate them. Although that girl's, Kamenoko, felt intimately familiar, akin to an echo of the sanbi's energy which rested within her belly.

They managed to get close to Fire's border before Mei decided to stop for the night. She wanted to spend as little time as possible out in the open and decided they would rest for a few hours. The genin especially needed to sleep and regain their energy. The next day would have them reach the limits of their speed and endurance. Sakura took second watch with one of the nameless ANBU and spent most of the time focusing on her sensing, attempting to increase her range. Not being a natural sensor type, she would soon reach her limit but it was a handy skill and a good way to pass the time while still staying alert. Mei didn't sleep at all.

Morning came sooner than expected. The two hours Sakura had rested on the soft grass hadn't done anything for her. She had slept plenty during the boat ride and what little ground they had made yesterday had barely dented her energy levels. After a few short minutes of yawning genin and a quick early morning round, the slow run resumed.

Upon crossing the border, Sakura stopped focusing on her sensing and always kept one hand close to the hilt of her tanto. Isobu had once again manifested behind her eyes and joined her in her constant search for threats or other disturbances. The roads were empty for the most part and the odd merchant caravan did little to slow them down. They slept under the open sky that night with six people keeping watch at a time, the genin sleeping soundly. Eventually Mei called for another stop and in pairs of two, they bathed in a small stream where Sakura diligently re-did Mei's fancy braid, fingers moving without her needing to think much about what she was doing. Knowing Terumi clan patterns by heart was no longer an issue Sakura concerned herself with.

On the 4th, early in the morning and only three hours away from Konoha, was when they struck.

The continued silence and calm had made Sakura paranoid and restless. From the moment they had abandoned the stream, fresh and clean, she had been agitated with hands itching to reach for her blades, chakra thrumming steadily and in every last corner of her body, combat ready. Running for another hour without a single interruption had only worsened her state of mind to the point where her chakra spiked, not enough to alert anyone to their presence, yet still enough for Isobu to subtly suppress her aura, smothering it with his. Not even that alleviated the pressure.

And she was glad for it minutes later. A barely audible click was the only warning they got. Sharp nails clawed themselves into her shawl, scratching her skin, as she was forcibly yanked backwards just in time not to be blown to bits by a massive, ground shaking explosion. The blast ripped the road ahead apart as multiple detonations, identical to the first, followed quickly behind. Sakura was pressed against Mei's chest before being released.

“Protect the children!” the woman called out, voice barely rising above the deafening cracks of explosives being set off in a large circle surrounding their group. Simultaneously, they drew their blades, Sakura her clan katana, Mei her own, and turned their backs towards the genin, sharp steel stretched out in front of their bodies.

“Twelve of them, hiding in the smoke,” Junji's voice rang out from somewhere to Sakura's left. Reaching down and pulling at Isobu's essence, she cycled it through her body, then pushed it past her skin. A faint red glow surrounded her form and with smouldering red eyes, she saw the outlines of their chakra through the smoke. They didn't move. What were they waiting for?

“Shit!” one of the jounin bit out just as Sakura watched the outlines split and multiply, turning twelve targets into twenty four. No. Wait. One, two, three... Sakura counted the unmoving signatures, then bit the inside of her cheek.

“Replacement seals on the shadow clones.” Mei's voice was hard and strong, like a knife that cut through the tension. The actual shinobi were freely trading places with their clones, merging, then once again splitting, so fast and seamless that the total number of enemies seemed to fluctuate. Damn Uzushio and their chakra reserves.

Without warning, they charged. Sakura deflected three kunai with the blunt side of her katana, then raised a wall of water in front of the turtle girl to absorb a hail of senbon.

“Go!” Mei yelled and Sakura knew the command was for her. A dome of earth rose from the ground and closed itself around the six genin just as she launched herself at their assailants.

“Sanbi!” one of them cried out before disappearing into a cloud of dust, leaving behind a burning paper bomb. Sakura ducked her head and dug her feet into the ground, weaving a water shell around her body. The force of the explosion sent her backwards and right into a massive fireball. A shiver ran down her spine upon making contact with the jutsu but she chased away the faint flicker of panic and coated herself in another layer of water. The heat burned her skin and nearly pierced her defenses.

Feeling the familiar thrum of violence in her veins, Sakura bared her teeth and dodged another fire jutsu, a giant bird with wings that were twice as wide as her body was long. Phoenix. Flamebearer. Uzumaki. She had found her target.

The signature hung further back, conjuring flames and evoking seals past a three man barrier of hostile shinobi. From her left, Sakura saw the glint of metal coming at her and swung her blade in an upwards arc. Steel met steel and the sheer force of her movement derailed the kunai. Its wielder let go before losing his balance and Sakura dodged the following wind scythe aimed for her neck. Hot glowing orange entered her field of view, and she leapt upwards into the trees, the cries of a man burning alive while having skin and flesh melted off his bones, music to her ears.

The dome protecting the genin was littered with cracks and it was obvious who and what the Uzu-nin were targeting. How godless did one have to be to seek to destroy the lives of another's young. A vast blackness at the back of Sakura's mind rose from its pool and crawled into her awareness, filling her with the ancient fury of her ancestors. Her chakra spiked, teal and dark and _deep_ and she let it.

Just then, silence fell over the battlefield. The remaining eight shinobi had withdrawn from their individual battles and returned to the side of the phoenix summoner. In a flash, Sakura returned to Mei's side. The woman's hands and forearms were coated in lava as her body positively leaked chakra, letting it drip all over the floor.

“Terumi.” Sakura winced at the loud and jarring rumble, a voice so twisted and painful it drilled itself right into her head, searing everything in its path. The shinobi who were clustered around their leader stepped aside to reveal a female dressed in rich red robes with golden lining. Shimmering black plate protected her chest and arms, both completely covered in glowing orange seals. Long red hair fanned out behind her back, unbound and free, and in exactly the same shade as the glasses resting on her small nose.

“What a pitiful sight you are.” The woman's mouth moved yet the voice that left it was clearly male, no matter how unnatural and filthy the sound. Every fibre of Sakura's body screamed her, warning her of this _curseddemonicviledisgustingdiabolical_ being. It send fear into her very soul, the kind of fear that shook her insides, the fear that evoked images of a city burning, a people dying, oh tides so many _dead_ -

“A disgraced queen with no kingdom for her to rule. How far you have fallen.” Sakura snarled, loud and vicious, sidestepping around Mei to block her from the woman's sight, swords crossed in front of her. A mean sneer spread on her face as she looked down on Sakura's hunched form, flames dancing around her wrists.

“Kinslayer. Still chained to your mistress like a common guard dog.” She spat on the ground between them and Sakura growled until her throat hurt.

“Get out of my way bird, or by the tides, I will _make_ you.” The ground hissed when more lava dripped off Mei's hands and scorched the earth beneath them. This forest was not meant to be their battlefield but Mei was ready to turn it into one nevertheless and Sakura felt it in every single bone of her body.

“You can't make me do anything,” the woman hissed before twisting her fingers into a seal Sakura had never seen before, then slamming her palm on the grass.

And suddenly, her world was on fire.

“ _Take my hand! We have to leave, now!” Screams and cries were the only sound in this dying city, along with the furious war cries of those godless barbarians that raided their home, the crackling and snapping of buildings giving in to the flames licking at them._

“ _No! I won't just flee!” She reached for her arm, grabbed at it and pulled her along, away from the fire, away from the screams._

“ _Stop,_ stop _! She's still there, we have to help her!” The pull became stronger, an iron hard grip she couldn't escape from no matter how hard she tried._

“ _Are you insane?! She's going to die, we're all going to die!” Everywhere they ran, blind and panicked, pushing each other out of the way and onto the ground, anything to escape the hell and destruction those fires brought._

“ _She won't die if we come to her aid!” Finally, finally the grip wavered and she used the moment. With one violent tug, she tore free, whirled around and ran back to where they came from. She jumped over broken beams, the corpses of her friends and family, sprinted faster and faster to get where she needed to be in time._

“ _There! Get her!” She swung the blade of her younger sibling and cut the flamebearer clean in half. Hot blood splattered onto her skin and drenched her white robes a bright crimson and more than that, filled her senses with the song of her people. Her grin was sharp and vicious and without looking back, she sprinted towards the tall dark blue spire. The only one who still stood strong and proud, the only one who had yet to fall._

Her world was on fire but it wasn't the first time and she wasn't scared anymore.

“Not this time, you wretched whore!” A flood sprung forth from nowhere and swallowed the bright yellow flames, furious waves felling trees, drowning the road they were standing on and consuming every last breath of fire the woman had conjured. And there she stood, Mei, both palms raised towards the sky with pale blood welling from two fresh cuts on each of her hands.

Her voice called Sakura to action and she charged forwards. Before the man could react, she had forced her tanto through his neck. The hilt smacked against his skin and with a forceful twist, Sakura took his head clean off his shoulders. Not minding the spray of blood that painted her teal shawl a dark brown, she moved onto the second. Junji was around, somewhere, because right in front of her eyes one of the shinobi got pierced by three massive spikes of ice that nailed him to a nearby tree like a grotesque piece of art.

The slaughter had commenced and as Sakura jumped high to avoid Mei's lava, her eyes zeroed in on their leader. That one was hers. Hers, and hers alone. Landing on a nearby branch, Sakura pooled chakra at her feet, then expelled it. Shooting towards the woman, her fingers already shaped signs and fired a wide array of sharp water needles at her.

“Pathetic,” the woman who, at closer range, turned out to be a girl Sakura's age, snarled as she batted away the needles with a single wave of her hand. The second she was in range, Sakura engaged her with her tanto. Whirling and twisting in a familiar dance, she unleashed herself against this fiery creature, undaunted, unafraid. All around them Uzu-nin dropped like flies and the stench of their blood in the air only fuelled Sakura's assault.

“You are not worthy.” Fire and wind came racing towards her. Forced to abandon her current strategy, Sakura avoided the endless elemental bombardment by cycling her chakra faster and faster. Isobu poured himself into Sakura's cells, granting her a kind of speed that went unmatched.

And when she saw an opening, she took it. Surging forwards, Sakura clad herself in a cloak of water. Maintaining the barrier with chakra, she fed it more and more energy every time a fireball evaporated the outermost layer. One blade in each hand, she got close, ducked, dodged and weaved, sliced, diced and stabbed.

With every hit the woman's armour lit up and another orange seal faded into nothingness, protective seal spent. Sakura kept pressing her attack, wailing on the redhead's defences and wearing them down. Light after light went out and soon it turned into a race between Sakura's chakra running out and the woman losing her last seal.

“ _DEMOOOOOOON!_ ” Sakura was suddenly, and without warning, flung to the side. Catching herself before breaking through a tree, she regained her sense of balance and tried to make sense of what had just happened. A single look towards the woman solved the mystery instantly. In Sakura's place was Mei, eyes pitch black, iris expanded and every trace of white gone, skin cold with an almost blueish hue, fangs long and bared, fingers changed into claws.

Her entire form was blurred, so fast Sakura couldn't see what was truly happening, only one seal after another disappearing into thin air at an incredibly fast rate.

“ _Mindless beast,_ ” the woman hissed then howled in pain as the last light went out and both of Mei's swords were rammed through her chest. Sakura expected blood. There was none.

“What kind of forsaken construct have you turned yourself into, bird?” Mei demanded in a screech, claws closing around the woman's frail neck before crushing it beneath her fingers. Pale skin broke as bones snapped and stabbed through the outer layer, thin white shards sticking out of the collar of her robe.

“This time, you will perish once and for all, like the crazed creature you are,” the female hissed before grabbing the handles of Mei's swords and pulling them from her body. Too late, Sakura spotted the last remaining rune sewn into the hem of her robe. She opened her mouth to warn Mei, but it was too late. The woman disappeared in a cloud of smoke, gone just like the shinobi Sakura had encountered on her mission with Utakata.

“ _Khaszha!_ ” An unintelligible hiss escaped Mei's mouth, a vicious curse, as she shook her hands free from the traces of dust and ash the Uzumaki had left behind. Her chest rose and fell in a rapid rhythm and for a long while, nobody moved or said a word. Eventually, her aura settled and her breath evened out. Sakura blinked once and Mei's appearance had returned to normalcy even though now it was harder to look at the sharpness of her features and still perceive it as something ordinary.

“String up the bodies, gut them and drain them. Their blood is ours now,” she called out coldly before turning away from the burnt symbol in the grass and facing Sakura. She didn't need to say it out loud. Sakura understood.

“It was a corpse,” she said as she slowly approached Mei. Outwardly calm she may be, but Sakura felt her unrest echoed in her own soul.

“The avatar is meant to burn to ashes, then be reborn in the phoenixes fold. This... is _wrong_.” She shook slightly as she raised a hand to Mei's neck, pulling her closer. Leaning in, she lowered her head and sighed in relief when their foreheads touched. Cold skin pressed against her own as two hands closed around Sakura's forearms, gripping them tightly. With every breath, she felt a puff of air brush against her mouth. Closing her eyes, she moved even closer until the tip of her nose rubbed against Mei's.

“The sea will guide us home. You and me. Forever.” The older woman drew a sharp breath and moved one of her hands to the back of Sakura's neck, applying pressure and pushing against her so hard it almost hurt. Sakura let her. After what could be seconds, minutes or even hours, Mei let go. As her hands left Sakura's body, her palms brushed against the cloth of her shirt, lingering for just a moment.

Drawing her gaze from the Terumi, Sakura realised that the rest of their group all had their eyes averted, backs turned away from their shared moment of comfort. It felt almost like... respect.

The corpses of the fallen Uzu shinobi were suspended in the air and hung in a single line by ninja wire which was attached to two trees on either side of the road. The wire pierced the bodies just beneath the armpits, digging into soft flesh weighed down by gravity. Every single one of them had a gaping hole where their stomach used to be, a mess of blood an innards on the ground beneath them. A sign. A statement. To show everyone who came across them what happened to the enemies of Kirigakure no Sato.

Mei walked over to the first corpse, dug two fingers into the wound, swiping along a bloodied rib cage. Reaching up, she painted two waves onto the dead man's forehead before moving onto the next and repeating the process. Once she was done, she took a step back, pulled a blade Sakura vaguely recognised as a replica of the ritual knife they used during the blessing ceremony, from the insides of her outfit and flung it at Sakura.

“This is your ritual,” she spoke and Sakura understood. Two of the genin, Eiichi and Ren, stumbled forwards after a push from their sensei and knelt in front of the body, hands raised towards the sky. Sakura moved around the corpse, grabbed the head by its hair and tilted it backwards. With one swift motion she slashed his throat. What little blood was left spilled from the cut, trickled down the body and onto the genin's hands, colouring them a vibrant red.

“Your enemy's blood on your hands, your water strong in your veins,” she murmured, mind shut down, brain turned off, voicing the words she felt deep inside her heart. The genin bowed their heads and brought their hands together, rubbing, until every single finger and crease up to their wrist was covered in blood. Sakura stepped behind the next body. Kamenoko and Katsumi approached. She slit the throat and spoke her words. For every group of two, she diligently repeated the process. Once Mei's hands were stained, Sakura returned the knife and this time, kneeled herself to deliver her own prayer, present her own sacrifice.

“The road is safe now. Let us finish our journey,” Mei spoke as she helped Sakura off the ground, slick hands giving a beyond satisfying squelch as they pulled her to her feet. Once more, she put on her ANBU mask which had gotten lost on the ground during the fight and if everyone stuck just a little closer to the genin, nobody mentioned it.

“Ho- Hokage- Hokage-sama!” Hinata jumped when the door to the Hokage's office suddenly slammed open, followed by the entrance of a harried looking and out of breath shinobi. The Hokage narrowed her eyes at him and barked a rough:

“What is it?” The man took two deep breaths before righting himself. The assembled rookie eight with the recent addition of a boy named Sai, warily watched the shinobi. They had been summoned by the blonde woman to address their involvement in this year's chuunin exam. Hinata had offered herself as contact to the Kirigakure delegation instantly, to her team mates' caution and exasperated worry. She had been looking forward to Sakura-san's arrival ever she heard the news that she would accompany her genin to Konoha.

“There's been... a fight. Unknown attackers. Their target-”

“-the Kiri teams,” the Hokage finished before he could and moved a hand to her forehead. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she sighed and shook her head. Hinata forced herself to remain calm. Sakura-san was an incredibly accomplished jounin. The holder of the sanbi. She would be fine. No doubt about that.

“They're fine. A passing... ANBU team found the remains of their assailants. It... apparently was no pretty sight.” Hinata remembered the deep furrow in Ino's arm, the pierced ankle, and the months it took to properly recover. Her gaze slid to the thick silver scar on the Yamanaka's forearm. Yes, she thought. She could imagine the aftermath of a confrontation with more than just one Kiri shinobi.

“Shit...,” the Hokage cursed and Hinata sympathised with her. A foreign delegation being attacked in Konoha's territory? Political disaster didn't even come close to describing the situation.

“Wait. Our ANBU found them? Where the hell did that happen?” Tsunade-sama then demanded, following a train of thought Hinata didn't understand. Why did the location of the skirmish matter? She gasped, when realisation hit her.

“Three hours away from the village, Hokage-sama. They're rapidly approaching our gates as we speak.”

“For fuck's sake!” Hinata jumped at the bellowed curse and then paperweight that smashed through the window, raining glass splitters onto the ground below. She couldn't fault the woman. Kirigakure no Sato was two days early. The accommodations weren't fully prepared yet, Hinata wasn't dressed properly, there was no welcoming party at the gates-

There was no welcoming party at the gates.

Hinata's eyes widened at about the same time as Tsunade-sama's. With another loud curse, the blonde tore one of her nearby cupboards open and pulled the Hokage hat from its insides. Jamming the thing on her head, she snarled and stomped out of her office.

“Rookies, with me!” Hinata shot into action and scrambled to keep up with the blonde, followed by the rest of her year mates.

“Early? Why are they early?” Kiba asked with a heavy frown, Akamaru casually trotting beside him. While Hinata was definitely interested in the answer, she frantically moved her hands through her hair in an effort to make it look nice and soft and oh, she hadn't applied any makeup today and her clothes were pants and a sweater, _what had she been thinking getting dressed in these_ -

“I am unsure,” Shino admitted calmly, not at all daunted by the situation, how could he be so tranquil, _nobody was ready, this was a nightmare-_

“Hinata. Chill. They just fought off some missing-nin or something, Sakura isn't going to care that you're not wearing your prettiest kimono.” Her face turned beet red at the casual way Naruto-kun had addressed her.

“I- I am not... not worried!” she exclaimed, hands twitching. Looking away from Naruto-kun, Hinata's gaze was once again drawn to Ino. She looked like she didn't care much about anything at all yet the way she cradled her scarred arm told a different story. Hinata was overcome by a sudden rush of sympathy. Ino had been the only one of their year to ever be subjected to Sakura-san's skill and callousness and had the scar to prove it. Out of all of them, the pink haired girl's return had to be hardest for her.

They reached the gates soon enough and Hinata arranged herself in between Kiba and Shino, back straight, hands folded in front of her body, and what she hoped a welcoming expression on her face. Then, she waited.

She didn't have to wait long. Having gotten used to her team's quirks long ago, Hinata knew how to read both boys like an open book. So when Kiba's nose twitched, she knew he had caught a new scent. When he frowned and made a face, she knew it was an unpleasant one. She remembered Sakura-san doused in blood, smelling of death and decay and wondered in just what condition she would arrive in.

The answer to her question presented itself mere minutes later. Three figures appeared on the horizon from one moment to the next. They were walking, not running, and soon three turned into eight, into fourteen, into nineteen. A very large delegation. Most of the other villages brought three teams but Kiri had insisted on being allowed special permission to bring four extra guards on top of the two usual bodyguards, citing extraordinary circumstances. In light of their joined mission and the report she had just witnessed, Hinata could understand their caution.

Eventually, one by one, they came into view and Hinata couldn't help but shrink a little at the terrible image they presented. At the front of their group were Sakura-san and the ANBU who had been her captain during their joined mission. Both wore their masks and had reddish stains on parts of their clothes though that was not what truly threw Hinata off. Their hands were caked in dried blood, from the tip of their fingers all the way to their wrists. Bits and pieces had already broken off but not enough to hide the fact that the blood had been a choice as opposed to a consequence of combat.

Between and slightly behind them, was a woman Hinata only vaguely remembered. She had seen her in the streets of Konoha once or twice during the visit after which she had taken Sakura-san with her. She was incredibly tall, even taller than Sakura-san and the ANBU both of which positively towered over Hinata. Her face was cold and empty, beautiful in a strangely alien manner with a long complicated braid that swung behind her with every step she took. Her hands were just as bloodied as Sakura-san's. And not only hers. Not a single member of their delegation had clean hands and all of them looked dressed for war.

“Sorry for the lack of fanfare and dramatics. You're a little early. We had no way to prepare.” Hokage-sama wasn't going for subtlety but her words failed to get a rise out of anyone. The Mizukage held herself straight and proud as she walked in front of her bodyguards, hat conspicuously absent.

“We ran into some minor trouble on our way here. We hoped to avoid that... oddly enough, despite our changed schedule, we didn't.” Sparks flew between the two kage as tension built and increased until Hinata felt incredibly uncomfortable. Sneaking a glance at Sakura-san, she was disappointed to find that the jounin merely stared straight ahead. Not that the mask gave away much.

“You don't appear to be very concerned with getting ambushed on the road,” the Hokage grumbled and Hinata shivered when the glint in the Mizukage's eyes darkened.

“Nobody braves the might of the sea for long, Tsunade,” she said with a faint hiss in every 's' and Hinata instinctively reached for Kiba's hand.

“In the end, she swallows us all. As eternal powers tend to do.” Almost lighthearted, the woman smiled but Hinata saw the subtle sharpness of her teeth and the warning in her eyes.

“But enough of that. We are pleased to be invited into your village and partake in your exams.” She offered her dirty hand to the blonde who visibly ground her teeth before accepting it.

“Pleased, indeed,” the Hokage growled and applied just more pressure than needed to the grip. If it bothered the Mizukage, she didn't show it.

“Welcome to Konoha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songwriting... I have no words to describe this hell, seriously the only reason it took me so long to write this chapter was writing those damn lyrics. I am NEVER doing that again. (I absolutely will, please send help.) That aside, I am super nervous about it so I would appreciate feedback.
> 
> On another note, I have some family staying over for a few days so the update might (most likely will) come a little later. Sorry about that in advance. :)


	13. Act II: Part V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Konoha does not want Sakura and Sakura does not want Konoha. Her mind keeps turning against herself and aside from Mei who has a hand in everything that happens, nobody is truly happy with the situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what, I still somewhat made it in time. :)
> 
> @NorthernLights025: Thank you! I'm glad to hear it worked the way I wanted it to, especially after the headache it gave me. :)  
> @darthsakura: Well, I can't spoil anything for you but I can tell you that these kids are very well protected indeed... I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! :)  
> @Saphirien: Wow, you got really passionate about my fic there for a moment. That's super cool! As for Naruto... well, they never bonded and he never grew attached to her. Plus, everyone is a little more jaded in this universe... thanks for reading and leaving such a nice comment!  
> @3BlindCats: That's the content I'm here to offer! (I feel the same ;))  
> @Astro_Kitty: You ask and you shall receive. There's more Hinata in the future but the Mei/Sakura interactions are getting more and more frequent as the plot progresses... :) Thanks for reading and leaving such a lovely comment!  
> @Nuerotell: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.  
> @Chipichanga: Don't tell anyone but it's my favourite chapter too, if only for the song. The kids are precious, I agree. :D Thank you as always, for being so amazing Chipi. <3  
> @Fanonymous: Well, the story is set in stone and has been for the last... uh, 4 chapters. So whatever happens, happens. ;)  
> @Stella_The_Person: Aww, thank you! The worldbuilding is definitely my favourite part and I'm suck a sucker for rituals and old religions... I appreciate the comment and thank you, as always, for reading! =)  
> @GarlicBreadddd: Don't tell anyone (but you got it right, oh my God I was celebrating in my chair when I read your comment because yes, the hint was so incredibly weak but you got it anyway). You rock! :D  
> @QueenBelladonna: I'm happy you liked the song. It was definitely my major insecurity with that chapter so it means a lot! I'm really happy you gave my fic a try and enjoy it. It's pretty out there so I appreciate every single person who's enthusiastic about me writing stuff I enjoy writing about. As for the Uzu... well, I don't hate them but they are the antagonists of this story so not a lot of love for them unfortunately considering 90% of the story is told from Sakura's POV... who does hate them. Either way, thank you for reading and commenting! :)  
> @Turix: Well if you're into traditions and cultural practises, you're in the right place! Welcome to my fic, I do hope you enjoy your stay! =)  
> @cubanabruja1: Don't make me blush. :> Honestly, you're far too kind to me but hey it definitely makes me incredibly happy so thank you <3\. I have a lot planned for Konoha - in fact the entire rest of Act II which will be a few more chapters. So you should get your fill! Seriously, I appreciate your comment it made me smile when I read it. Thank you so much!
> 
> Wow, so sorry for this wall of text but I got way more comments than usual (yay!). Enjoy this chapter!

They stared.

Not just the shinobi – the civilians, too. Sakura wasn't quite sure what exactly caught people's attention. Their bloodied hands and clothes? Their formations? Mei? Or perhaps simply the arrival of a large group of armed shinobi. Perhaps a combination of all of the above. Either way, as they followed the Hokage and her small entourage of Sakura's former class mates through the village, heads turned and eyes followed their every move. She was used to being stared at. Fifteen years in Konoha meant fifteen years of standing out and being too different. A little over a year in Kiri meant being the granddaughter of a murderous kinslayer and the last of her line to pick up the mantle and garments of clan tradition.

She had been stared at for her entire life. Be it out of distrust, paranoia or fear. This right now was a mixture of all three. She forced her body from inching closer to Mei. Such a show of weakness would be a death sentence in unfriendly territory.

“I- I am glad you are a-alright. T- The ambush must have c-come unexpected.” The meek Hyuuga was the only one to freely mingle with their group. As the Hokage led them towards their temporary residence, the rest of Sakura's old class mates kept to the edges of Kiri's tight formation. All except the girl currently walking alongside Sakura.

“We anticipated hostile interference,” she replied as diplomatically as able, remembering that they were supposed to be friends. Sakura had only a vague grasp on the concept itself which meant little in the face of Mei's order to be cordial with the Hyuuga. The Terumi was banking on this relationship being of use one way or another, no matter what she had told Sakura about pursuing this for her own enjoyment. At least Sakura assumed so. Mei always had an ulterior move so surely this was no different.

“Our n-nations are allied. Y- You should be safe within our b-borders,” the girl murmured dejectedly as Sakura's gaze hardened ever so slightly. Allied, she said. While from merely looking at her, Sakura wouldn't expect the Hyuuga to be a schemer, appearances could very well be deceiving. Their alliance stood on incredibly shaky ground even if one party was more aware of that fact than the other.

“We're not which is why we brought additional guards.” Perhaps a bit harsh, true, and the girl flinched subtly at Sakura's steely tone though the remark was more directed towards the rest of their escorts.

“Doesn't look like you needed them,” the Inuzuka grumbled barely audibly from Sakura's right. She turned her head and mustered his face, noticed the way his nose twitched and the general unhappy expression etched onto his features. The corners of her lips quirked upwards which prompted a low growl from the Konoha-nin. That sense of smell must be more burden than boon when surrounded by a whole group of shinobi drenched in their enemies' blood.

“K- Kiba!” Leaving the two to their hushed squabble, Sakura quickened her stride until she was right next to Mei. The blonde Hokage still stomped ahead of them, no doubt beyond irritated with their delegation. She could understand, to a degree. From the moment of their arrival, Mei had done her best to antagonise the blonde, toeing the line just so. After witnessing the phoenix flames, Sakura related to Mei's desire to push back against those who hid their movements in the shadows, allowing these attacks on their people without interfering much.

“Already left your new friend behind?” Mei asked lowly, a hint of censure accompanying the whispered inquiry. Sakura's brow twitched and she let the disapproval wash away.

“I'm sure I will have plenty of opportunity to spend time with her later,” she replied, recalling her orders to accept the Hyuuga's offer for a village tour. Junji and her would take the chance to gain a rough overview of the state of Konoha and perhaps answer a few seemingly innocent questions. The girl seemed canny and introspective but was blinded by her eagerness to be friends with Sakura. A personal annoyance, yet advantage all the same.

“Of course. Now that our two week stay has been extended by two additional days,” the Terumi murmured with a barely noticeable hint of amusement, green eyes following the blonde's every move. Sakura ignored the urge to reach for Mei's hand and ground her teeth instead. She didn't like being so far away from home but at least Mei could find something to brighten her spirits, deep in presumably hostile territory, as they were. And she only had herself to blame for that one.

“Stop brooding, darling. Your rashness did open up a door or two.” She exhaled loudly in an effort to keep her frustrations away. Mei's proximity helped ease what trouble her words had caused.

“...darling? Hey, do you think they're-”

“Naruto!”

“What? It's a valid question, look how close they are!”

“S- Sakura-san is our age!”

“So? Ayame-nee-chan isn't much older and she's dating that old senbon guy-”

“ _Naruto!_ ”

Sakura curled her hands into fists and turned her focus inwards to put a tight lid on her budding killing intent. Children. These leaf-nin behaved like complete and utter children. How dare they be so carefree when her village had to fear for-

“Hush, Karatachi-chan. We're almost there.” A hand brushed against her wrist and from one moment to another, the pressure in her forehead eased. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated on her breathing, took what little chakra Mei had given her and moved it the tenketsu in her head. It wouldn't last long but she already felt the immediate effects.

“The Senju surely wants us out of her hair for a few hours so we have some time to gather our bearings and wind down from the journey. The welcoming dinner is held once the other kage arrive which means there's plenty of time to prepare,” Mei breathed quietly as she marched just a little ahead of Sakura, head and shoulders straight, thus easily eclipsing anyone else in terms of sheer height. Sakura had so gotten used to being surrounded by tall people and matching their height that suddenly, everyone else seemed tiny in comparison. Her final growth spurt had hit mere weeks after arriving in Kiri and now she almost matched Junji who was only half a head shorter than their Mizukage.

After blending out the inane conversations happening around her, Sakura found that the rest of their walk went by much quicker. The area the Hokage had led them to did little to jog her memory. As a matter of fact, Sakura had expected to have more vivid memories of her time in Konoha and the village in general. Yet now that she was here, she seriously questions just how much the village had changed... or how much she had forgotten. The more she learned of her people's history and traditions, the more everything else simply... faded away. Sakura's memory had always been nigh impeccable. Losing most of her childhood unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

“We prepared the same residence you inhabited during your last stay. You'll find it changed little,” the Hokage announced as they came to a stop in front of one of Konoha's foreign delegation quarters. The entire building was decorated in various shades of blue and Sakura heard herself snort in amusement. Mei's sideways glance showed the twinkle in her eyes as if she knew exactly what Sakura had been thinking.

“Since everyone else is scheduled to arrive in two days-” Here the blonde murmured something that eerily sounded similar to 'like civilised people',

“You are free to organise your own entertainment within the agreed-upon parameters.” Sakura would have to ask Mei about the exact nature of said parameters. She was under no illusion that she specifically wouldn't be watched rather closely for the majority of her stay. She, who had worn Konoha's red swirls on her forearm for two years.

“And so we shall. Your hospitality is much appreciated, Tsunade.” Mei sounded genuine but the Hokage's left eye twitched nevertheless.

“Do enjoy your stay, Mei. And... tell your protégé about the additional rules she has to follow.” Honey eyes drilled themselves into jade and Sakura called upon all of her self control to not show her surprise.

“Ah, unfortunately as my bodyguard, she is to go where I go.” A hand found its way on her shoulder and Sakura stilled momentarily at the sudden unexpected contact. Mei liked to stay close to Sakura and especially lately, added a casual touch here and there during conversations. Still... she hadn't expected her to do so in full view of a group of strangers. Especially these strangers.

“First you insist on bringing extra guards, then you argue with me for weeks to cram the entire chuunin exams into half the time frame as usual and now this? I liked you better when you were more agreeable.” Sakura took half a step forward, lips twitching, when Mei's nails clawed themselves into the cloth of her scarf. She froze, then slowly, stepped backwards again. The Hokage raised a single brow in her direction, then frowned at Mei. If they were having a silent conversation, Sakura wasn't privy to it yet the fact that it was about her, was obvious.

“Sakura-chan has little interest in accessing any of your restricted facilities. She will stick to my side for the entire duration of our stay in your village. Or to her friend's. Hyuuga-san, wasn't it? I do consent to ANBU observation, within reason of course.” Mei's smile looked sweet and polite but Sakura saw the tips of her canines glint ever so slightly. She wanted to open her mouth and demand to know what they were talking about but this was not the time or place. She'd ask Mei later, in private.

“ _You consen_ \- no. Fine. If that's what it takes to make you stop arguing, have it. If I see that girl on her own without the Hyuuga or your teams, I will have her locked up.” Sakura's chakra roiled at the same time as Mei's grip on her shoulder turned almost painful, suppressing her budding aura instantly. Her sharp smile widened to the point where she showed the blonde in front of her every single one of her teeth.

“I accept,” she spoke and gently pulled Sakura backwards until she was partly hidden by the taller woman's body.

“Thank you for your warm welcome, Tsunade,” the Terumi added and raised a flat palm to her chest, a gesture that was entirely Kiri yet didn't take much genius to interpret correctly.

“Mei,” the blonde almost growled in annoyance, looking very much like she wanted to throw her hands up in the air in frustration.

“Beat it kids, and do the work I pay you for. Hyuuga, with me,” the blonde ordered as she whirled around and stomped away, leaving behind only the shadowy masks hiding on the rooftops high above their heads.

“It's almost like they don't want me here,” Sakura grumbled sullenly, beyond irked at having to be stalked by ANBU every hour of every day simply for existing. Logically, she was aware that they were simply being careful. Evidence against Sakura was damning. Former leaf shinobi, former ANBU, then the entire incident with Hoshigaki where she unleashed Isobu's power within Fire's borders, afterwards the confrontation at Zabuza's grave... Mei wouldn't even have let her inside the village, were she in the Senju's place.

“I had to fight with her quite a bit to make it happen nevertheless,” Mei pointed out before reaching around and placing her hand between Sakura's shoulder blades, guiding her towards the door of their temporary residence.

“Everyone gets an hour to settle in, get cleaned up and organise food. Afterwards we reconvene in the common room. Jounin-sensei, watch your genin,” she ordered as they, one after another, filed into the lobby. The interior was tasteful and so distinctively _Kiri_ that Sakura wondered if every village had their specific accommodations designed just for them. The walls were held in various shades of blue and grey with the odd streak of green complimenting the colour scheme. Paintings of the ocean, seaside and even a small fishing village along with two ceremonial swords crossed at the hilt marked the hallways which led to various sets of rooms.

“You're with me,” Mei announced as the rest of their group split up. The ANBU vanished between one second and the next while Junji lingered close to the Terumi. Leaving the genin, chuunin and jounin to sort themselves out, the older woman led Sakura through the corridor to the right of the common room with Junji following behind.

“The foreign village buildings have been around since the founding of Konoha. Hashirama was a man with vision, a true peace broker. He sent envoys to every village to inquire about culture, traditional housing... anything to make sure eventual visitors feel right at home,” Mei narrated as they came to a stop in front of four doors, two of which were to their right and left respectively. The latter were relatively nondescript, the ones straight ahead however...

“The hat has always been held by either of our clans so we each have a room dedicated to us. The other two are for personal bodyguards.” That would explain the blue paint on the left door, while the right was held in the typical mossy Karatachi green.

“Yuki, go and get one of the genin teams to bring us something to eat. Actually, ask for Team Two. The sanbi's disciple will no doubt complete the task faster than the others.” With a nod, Junji excused himself and disappeared into nothingness.

“She's not Isobu's disciple,” Sakura commented quietly as she opened the door to her room and stuck her head inside. Mostly green, with some blue and light woods it very much reminded her of what she imagined her clan compound to have looked like once upon a time. The air was a little stale and she tried hard not to think about how long it had been since one of her blood stepped through that doorway.

“Not yet. Take the hour to calm down. I want you to get in touch with that young friend of yours later.” She very carefully ignored the urge to groan and instead accepted the order for what it was. No matter how close, the woman was still her kage and Sakura was beholden to her. For the fraction of a second, Mei's skin flashed and lost colour but she only shook her head to dispel the image before the older woman closed the door behind her with a quiet thud.

Lingering the hallways for another moment, Sakura then entered her own room and released a long drawn-out sigh that had been stuck in her lungs ever since their arrival in Konoha. She couldn't put a finger on what it was, but Sakura felt something deep within her reject the idea of spending even one more second in this place. She'd call herself paranoid if she wasn't fully aware that the eyes she felt on her were quite real indeed. She was a threat to this village and not supposed to be there in the first place. Mei had, through unknown means, convinced the Hokage to grant her entry anyway. And now Sakura felt like a prisoner that itched to break out.

Carefully depositing her blades and gear on a low table, Sakura then marched straight towards the bathroom. Shedding one layer of clothing after another on her way, she groaned at the sudden ache in her muscles. It seemed like the adrenaline from their earlier fight finally wore off and left her with soreness she had not anticipated.

' _You burned through my chakra and damaged your own body by pushing beyond its limits._ ' Isobu did have a point. After dropping her underwear on the tiled bathroom floor, Sakura tapped into the shallow remains of her chakra pool and formed a snake seal, hands pointing at the tub. Salt and water shot from her palms and streamed into the tub. A single bead of sweat rolled down her forehead and when the tub was halfway filled, Sakura struggled to stay upright. She might end up asking Mei for a day off so she could sleep until her chakra was restored to a serviceable level. She'd be of no use to anyone like this.

She gently lowered herself into the tub, moaning quietly when her body sunk into fresh and cool saltwater. She just about remembered the last time she'd tried to take a bath in freshwater and the rash she had dealt with for hours until Mei had sent her to the hospital. It seemed like her body had finally decided on what type of water it preferred which was an honest relief to Sakura who'd grown tired of being covered in red dots every time she ended up making the wrong choice. Closing her eyes, she leaned back, searched for Mei's chakra and found it in a restful state, just beyond the wall on the opposite end of her room.

With one final sigh, Sakura allowed her body and mind to shut down, senses basking in the other woman's aura, and fell asleep as the dried blood on her hands stained the water a rusty brown.

“ _Did you hear? Apparently Her Majesty is going to come visit the temple personally!” She looked up from the roll of paper she was currently painting on and tilted her head to the side. Some hair fell in front of her face and she pushed it out of the way with one blood-covered hand._

“ _Truly? What's her business with us?” The other girl sighed loudly and let herself fall backwards onto a large silky cushion, fingers lazily drawing circles onto the surface of the large paint-filled basin between them._

“ _She wants to expand the temple premises and have us induct more of the lower-ranking priests into our inner circle. Something about putting more emphasis on tradition? I don't know. I guess the modernists are at it again,” the younger female explained with a roll of her eyes while kicking her bare legs up in the air. She clucked her tongue and patiently dipped her brush into the basin once more, applying the mixture of water, blood and ink onto the ritual scroll._

“ _I am days away from challenging them to a duel. Those fools think we are weak for devoting our time to the rituals of our people instead of joining our guardians on the battlefield,” she growled, added the final finishing touches to the scroll before placing it on the side to dry. The younger girl rolled over and stared at her, dark eyes glinting in amusement._

“ _You should show them what the Oracle of the Order is capable of,” she attempted to goad her into action with the lack of grace only younger sisters possessed._

“ _Ah. One day, perhaps. First, I am going to see what Her Majesty is like. It will be interesting to finally lay eyes on her. I hear she's quite the beauty,” she commented before reaching over and poking the end of her brush into her sibling's unprotected side._

“ _Stop lazing about and get to work. We're only halfway done and I intend to meet her with clean hands.” The young girl rolled her eyes once more before sitting up with a long sigh and picking up her own brush._

“ _You know, since you're so curious about her appearance, you shouldn't forget about your vows-”_

“ _Lagura!”_

“ _I'm sorry, I'm sorry-”_

“ _Get back here you insolent imp!”_

“ _Please, have mercy, Kara-”_

“You're lucky the sanbi will protect you from drowning.” Her eyes shot open and her body jerked violently in surprise. With a gasp, she flailed and went under, water filling her nose and lungs. A hand curled itself around her forearm and pulled her upwards.

“I leave you alone for an hour and you fall asleep in a tub.” She coughed and spit the last remains of salty water out of her mouth before turning her head and staring at her company through blurry vision. Blue, red, grey and black, sharp teeth and even sharper claws-

“Get dressed. The children are back with our food and we will join the others in the common room to discuss our strategy for the upcoming weeks.” Mei. Sakura. She shook her head, wet strands of hair slapping her in the face as she found back to herself. She couldn't quite remember what about, but she'd been dreaming and still felt somewhat stuck in those ~~mem~~ dreams. Like black sludge that clung to her mind.

“Sorry. Headache,” Sakura murmured and blindly accepted the towel Mei handed her. With slightly shaky limbs, she got to her feet and wrapped the fluffy towel around her body before once again glancing at Mei who casually leaned against the door frame. She looked normal except for her eyes which lost their emerald colour and resembled a rich pine instead. Sakura blinked once. Then twice. The emerald didn't return. She rubbed her eyes. Still no change.

“Don't worry about it. Your sight is adjusting. There's no use fighting it, it's entirely natural,” Mei explained and as her lips moved, Sakura noticed the pointy tips of her canines.

“Am I hallucinating or seeing things that have always been there?” she asked because she could swear that Mei's entire face had looked different before they left Kiri. Slightly rounder, less pointed, with smaller brighter eyes and flatter cheekbones. She still looked entirely... human. Nothing at all like during their confrontation with the Uzumaki, all- Sakura couldn't remember. There was a block in front of that particular memory, thick and hard with no way around it.

“What you see, is an echo of days long past,” the woman replied before reaching out and moving a few strands of hair out of Sakura's face.

“Your body and mind start to remember as you slowly begin to wear your inheritance on your skin. And at the same time, you see mine as well.” Sakura's focus automatically turned to her own hands and arms. Nothing had changed and she tried very hard not to feel terrified at the idea that she'd never seen her true self once her entire life. Pushing down the budding panic, she instead asked the question she'd been curious about for weeks.

“Hoshigaki... why was he different?” Sakura clearly recalled the blue scaly skin, gills and shark teeth. Next to him, Mei looked like an ordinary human.  
“We are very protective of our traditions. Kisame lost faith after your grandfather betrayed his trust. He stopped hiding from the world, used his bloodline to spread fear and terror. He was the last descendant of the shark people,” the older woman explained, prompting Sakura to avert her gaze and bite her lip in shame. She had extinguished one of her homeland's bloodlines. Disgust welled up within her and she instinctively rolled her shoulders in discomfort.

“...I'm sorry,” Sakura murmured as she fastened the towel around her body before grabbing another one to dry her hair.

“He turned against you. It was tragic, but unavoidable.” The faint traces of sadness in Mei's voice sent shivers down Sakura's spine. She opened her mouth to try and find something to say-

“You should hurry up. Your turtle girl can only keep your meal safe from Yuki for so long,” the woman announced as she turned around with a short wave of her hand.

“Damn seals...” Sakura's ears barely picked up the final murmur before Mei exited her room and blinked twice in rapid succession. Seals? Yuki? Was he... No. There was no point thinking about that now. She'd just ask Junji later. Glancing at her hands one last time, she chased away those worries and dried her body. Sharks, turtles, seals... she wondered what Mei was. And, above all, what _she_ was.

“ _Your fins are so long and pretty... I'm so jealous...”_

“ _You'll grow into them, sister. One day.”_

“ _And your hair! Why are you so exotic while I'm so boooooring...”_

“ _You're not boring. You look like mother.”_

“ _And you? Who do you look like?”_

“ _...I don't know.”_

Sakura was the last to arrive in the common room. In order not to waste any time, she'd dressed in a simple shirt and loose pants while her still damp hair clung to her back and hips. She'd feel more out of place if Junji wasn't currently shirtless and lounging on a couch.

“You're a headache Yuki, put on a shirt,” Mei barked at the man who merely grinned before poofing out of existence only to return a second later in his typical revealing haori. Sakura personally couldn't see much of a difference but Mei seemed appeased. Shrugging to herself, Sakura chose the only available seat and quietly thanked Kamenoko when she placed a container of food in front of her.

' _That one would make a good attendant. You should keep an eye on her._ ' Humming in acknowledgement, Sakura opened the box and happily dug into the various fried bits and pieces of fish and other seafood. Asking Isobu to elaborate would merely result in further confusion. She'd learned to pick her battles with the chakra turtle.

“I assume the genin have already received their talk concerning foreign village protocol?” Mei interrupted the silence from where she sat in the middle of the room, one leg crossed over another, half-eaten box of takoyaki on her lap.

“Yes, Mizukage-sama,” Tarou-san replied with a nod as Sakura wondered if she'd simply forgotten at some point or if she'd never received the same briefing.

“That applies specifically to Hamamura and Miyazaki. You will restrict your prayers to these halls,” Mei added and sent strict glances at the turtle girl and the boy, Katsumi, whose clan was allied with the dolphins.

“Ren's lessons will continue in the evenings after training sessions. Speaking of...” Mei trailed off while the other jounin-sensei distributed small flyers to everyone in the room. Sakura glanced at the paper and raised her brows. It was a list of training grounds and other facilities that were available to them with a different colour for each village. Kiri received unlimited access to training grounds four and seven, which Sakura's brain connected to forest and open terrain respectively. At least Konoha was playing fair.

“The two genin teams will concentrate on adapting to Fire's flora and environments. Our fake genin will help train the children. Disguise your activities as spars and make sure to stick to low level techniques. You're officially the best team we're entering so you have some leeway to work with.” Sakura frowned upon realising that while the other village grounds were group together, theirs were separated. While the ANBU would stick to Mei and Junji would focus on espionage, Sakura decided to split her free time evenly between watching over one team and the other.

“Due to Konoha tightening their security, the majority of espionage will fall to Yuki. They're most worried about you Sakura, and we're going to use that to our advantage,” the Terumi continued as the room's attention shifted to Sakura.

“Their eyes will be on you more than anyone else so we're going to play a few games with them.” Mei sounded almost amused and Sakura couldn't help but worry about the outcome of that. She was on extremely shaky ground with Konoha and if Mei planned to make it even _worse_...

“Contrary to what I told the Senju, you will spend very little time around me. I want you to stick to the Hyuuga. The girl is obviously infatuated with you and rather sheltered besides. You will feign interest in her advances and put Konoha's focus on scrambling for ways to snuff out that flame before it can grow out of control. If they're worried about a possible union between their precious Hyuuga and their worst nightmare, they'll only have so much time to think about Yuki's whereabouts.” Sakura's throat was drier than the desert. There was so much to unpack she had no idea where to start. The Hyuuga was interested in her? To the point where it was so obvious everyone but Sakura was fully aware of it? And to top it off, Mei expected her to employ social skills she never developed to try and nurture said interest? Sakura couldn't openly challenge her kage but thought her expression did a decent enough job of it anyway.

“Don't look at me like that. You merely have to pretend to like her. She's nice, that one. It won't be too hard.” Sakura very much wanted to protest and opened her mouth to give this ridiculous woman a piece of her mind, when a sudden knock interrupted their impromptu meeting.

“Speak of the devil,” Junji murmured and from one moment to another, everyone's gazes turned from contemplative to expectant.

“Go on then,” Mei prompted Sakura who came closer and closer to throwing all caution in the wind and explaining to the Terumi why exactly this was a terrible idea when a second knock joined the first. Mei raised a brow. Sakura stared. Mei made a shooing gesture. Sakura cursed under her breath and got off her seat. Quietly grumbling to herself, she stomped towards the door, then tore it open with little fanfare.

“G- Greetings, S- Sakura-san.”

 _You merely have to pretend to like her._ Damn it all to hell and back. Forcibly removing the scowl from her face, she did her best to look neutral and marginally less murderous. The girl had obviously freshened up, applied some makeup around her eyes and on her lips. Her earlier casual clothes were replaced by a beautifully crafted lavender kimono with white and dark blue flowers sewn into the cloth. She looked every bit the Hyuuga she was.

“Hyuuga-san,” she replied stiffly and ignored the girl's escorts. The Inuzuka on her team as well as the kyuubi jinchuuriki. Sakura had the sneaking suspicion that they had invited themselves as opposed to being brought along by the Hyuuga voluntarily.

“Is... is this a bad time?” she asked with a look at Sakura's dishevelled appearance. She felt Mei's eyes on her back and jerked her head.

“No.” Somewhere, in the depths of her mind, Isobu snickered. Of course the damn turtle would be amused by her predicament. If Mei needed a social butterfly so desperately, she should ask Junji. He'd woo that girl in no time. _Infatuated_ , what the actual-

“I w- wondered if you would like t- to give you the tour I mentioned in my letters...” The girl basically offered herself on a silver platter and there was no way Sakura could decline. Silently cursing Mei, Isobu, herself and this entire damn village, Sakura sighed once before giving a sharp nod.

“I will be with you momentarily.” The Hyuuga barely had time to blush, smile and nod before Sakura turned around and closed the door behind her.

“I gladly offer my services as chaperone,” Junji chirped jovially to which Sakura hissed at him to 'fuck off' before growling and walking back to her room.

“A little help there?” she asked and felt the pressure in her head decrease immediately as acid filled her pathways. If she'd be in a better mood, Sakura would appreciate how lucky she was that Isobu didn't need to be fought every step of the way. Her aura calmed considerably as her agitation ebbed away. He couldn't rid her of it completely; that was Mei's unique skill alone, but he definitely helped her regain a clearer state of mind. Sakura unsealed her pack from her storage scroll and tore it open, then pulled a second set of her usual outfit from its insides. Getting dressed in record time and strapping her blades to her back, she hurried back to the common room only to be stopped by Junji.

“Your hair,” he pointed out and Sakura very much wanted to tell him how little she cared about her damn hair, but he was already behind her. Gathering the strands in his hands, he conjured a strong burst of wind that lasted for only a second.

“I don't have time for you to sit down and braid my hair,” Sakura grumbled but let him do it anyway. If anything, the gentleness with which the man's fingers deftly tugged at her pink strands took her back to nights they spend sitting around campfires during their countless joined missions. Simpler times where she had less to worry about. Unbeknownst to her, the frown marring her forehead faded as her entire body relaxed.

“There. All done.” She blinked her eyes open and with a single cough, stepped away from the utterly self-satisfied male.

“Thank you,” Sakura whispered, determined to keep the moment between them and took a deep breath as her gaze turned towards the door. There was no avoiding it. For ~~Que~~ kage and country, she reminded herself and reached for the handle. On the other side, waited the Hyuuga with her standoffish escort. Upon spotting her, the girl smiled and stepped aside so Sakura could exit the building.

“Shall we?” she asked and sending a quick prayer to the sea that was so far away, Sakura nodded before falling in step with the Konoha-nin. Socialising. How hard could it be.

As it turned out, much harder than even Sakura could have guessed. In all fairness, the Hyuuga wasn't at fault. She was quiet and shy but polite and not at all overbearing. The true issue, were her escorts. Sakura had the sneaking suspicion that whoever had chosen those two, had picked them solely for their utter obnoxious loudness. They didn't speak, they yelled. They didn't ask questions, they demanded. If hell had a name, it was Naruto and Kiba of Konoha. Her fingers were already itching to reach for her weapons five minutes into their stroll. The civilians didn't help. They gawked and stared and pointed fingers. The four masks following her made it even worse. She'd seen Bear and smelled Mouse. The only one missing from her old cell was Hatake so obviously, after they had sat down in a nearby cafe to enjoy some refreshments, there he was.

“Ah, Hinata-chan. I see you're with our guest. How does the day find you, Karatachi-san?” Even if she'd tried to stop herself, Sakura doubted she could've kept that growl inside her throat. The last time she'd run into the man, he'd strong-armed her into coming here in the first place. Hatake Kakashi currently sat at the top of Sakura's list of people she completely and utterly despised.

“Well,” she hissed through her teeth, then noticed how uncomfortable the surrounding civilians had become and reined in her aura.

“How fortunate that you arrived earlier. That way, you have more time to catch up with your old colleagues.” A blatant threat hidden behind twinkling eyes and masked smiles. Red hot anger pooled in her stomach and she clenched her fists underneath the table. Sparks flew between them and Sakura hated how unruffled the man was. Here he was, surrounded by his friends, in the middle of his own territory, virtually untouchable.

“Konoha must be doing well if her kage can afford to send her most valuable ANBU Captain after his old student.” Sakura would bite the only way she could, and recalled every single conversation Mei ever had with people who thought they could run circles around her. In a fight of words, she was at a terrible disadvantage and the only light she could see was channelling the older woman to the best of her abilities. His eye smile intensified.

“Mah, Hokage-sama just wants to make sure you adhere to her rules. You've always been a bit of a troublemaker,” Hatake drawled and Sakura dug her nails into her palms. The sting grounded her and summoned Isobu from his restful state. His chakra instantly curled itself around her mind and pure spite alone enabled Sakura to look the man dead in the eyes and smile.

“You're so dutiful but I suppose dogs are known for being good at following orders.” From one moment to another, his jovial expression became so much colder and harder. Sakura's fake smile widened. Now they were getting closer to being on the same level.

“Hey, don't talk shit about dogs!” She flinched at the sudden volume in her left ear. Her remark had set off the Inuzuka who, along with his canine partner, now bared his teeth at her. Sakura only barely refrained from mirroring the gesture.

“I- I'm sure Sakura-san didn't mean it like that,” the Hyuuga interfered and Sakura happily latched onto the remark. Blood was pumping in her ears and she was far too close to giving in to the urge to resort to violence. Considering how thin the ice she was on with Konoha, that had to be prevented at all cost.

“The tea is lovely,” she offered while blatantly ignoring Hatake and directing her attention to the Hyuuga. The girl blushed at the sudden attention and agreed hastily before sipping on her own cup. Sakura didn't even lie. The tea _was_ nice. The girl had chosen a pleasant venue. Now if only someone could exterminate the pests...

“Y- you should try the dango,” the Hyuu- Hinata-san added and pushed her plate closer to Sakura. She nodded and reached for one of the sticks, when she recognised the opportunity for what it was. Seeking and holding eye contact, Sakura took the stick and bit into the first rice ball, showing off her sharp canines while calmly staring at the girl to her left. She took her time chewing on the treat and silenced the voice that told her how ridiculous she was being. Mei told her to show interest. Sakura didn't have the faintest idea how to do so but surely accepting and savouring offered food was appropriate.

Considering the girl went beet red, then fainted a few seconds later, perhaps she had been mistaken.

“Not a single word,” Sakura growled as she felt a familiar icy aura brush against hers from behind. After the amount of yelling the terrible duo had done, her nerves were running thin. Considering she wasn't allowed to walk off on her own, she had been forced to wait with the two boys until Hinata woke up. The ANBU keeping watch were, as predicated, no help at all. Not that Sakura would ever admit to it, but secretly she was glad that Junji had found her. At least one ally in a sea of potential enemies.

“Why, you didn't have to sweep her off her feet,” the man quipped, coaxing another growl from Sakura's throat. Before she even realised it, three water needles had formed in her right hand, primed and ready to start an improvised spar when suddenly and without warning, a hand closed itself around her wrist.

The effect it had on Sakura was immediate. Isobu's chakra flooded her system and she pushed it beyond her skin, viciously satisfied when whoever had grabbed her, hissed in pain and instantly removed their hand.

“Ah ah, don't they teach you to never touch a lady without asking for permission?” Junji asked lightly, seemingly unconcerned, but Sakura noticed the barely visible layer of ice creeping up his arms.

“Don't they teach you to keep your fighting to the designated training areas?” The man's voice was muffled by the boar mask hiding his face. A single glance at his fingers almost made Sakura want to smile. Isobu's acid had eaten through the material of his gloves and left his palm red and blistered. Junji shrugged once and stepped closer to Sakura, deliberately touching her shoulders with his as he came to a stop slightly in front of her. The unspoken statement was clear.

“Why, surely that promotes bad habits. What do you do if you're caught unawares? Ask your opponent to follow you to training ground twelve in Konohagakure no Sato?” Immense gratitude filled Sakura's every thought and she'd make sure to somehow repay the man at a later time. This wasn't like the mission where he made her talk to the Konoha-nin in order to establish a neutral atmosphere. When it counted, he stepped in.

' _Seals are very social and loyal beasts. Tides only know how you got this one on your side but he'll never desert you. He's more like the rest of his clan than he likes to admit._ ' Sakura chose not to comment on that. If Junji wanted her to know, he'd tell her.

“No fighting outside of designated areas,” the ANBU repeated himself before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Junji snorted quietly and made a great show of inspecting his finger nails.

“Not even a flawless replacement technique. Hatake is terribly lax with his own ANBU.” Sakura suppressed an amused snort. Junji was not above picking fights especially when his targets were so easily provoked, as evidenced by the redness of the kyuubi container's face.

“Kakashi-sensei is a great ninja, yeah? He's the greatest teacher I ever had,” the blonde exclaimed loudly to which Sakura could only raise her eyebrow. She'd been that man's student for much longer than that blonde loudmouth and could attest to his rather lacking abilities as instructor. Perhaps, she mused, things were different if he didn't outright detested his student.

“No... the great Hatake Kakashi, jounin-sensei and glorified babysitter? My my, what a shame,” Junji drawled, clearly not done with the jinchuuriki. Sakura would try and get him to stop if the immense dissatisfaction she felt didn't yearn for an opportunity to be released. A spar would be preferable but this... would do, if only for the moment.

“Y- Who are you then, huh? If you knew Kaka-sensei, you wouldn't talk shit about him!” They had drawn a small audience consisting mostly of civilians and the odd shinobi hiding in the masses. Oddly enough, the amount of eyes on Junji and her, roughly equalled that to the attention the blonde jinchuuriki got. It reminded Sakura of the way her own fellow shinobi had dogged her every step following her sealing ritual. Apparently not all was truly well in the village of leaves and surface niceties.

“Know him? I stole his clan's wolf contract! That practically makes us family,” Junji pronounced loudly, taking great satisfaction in the way the blonde's face fell. Sakura blinked owlishly before leaning a little closer to the man and whispering:

“You did?” He grinned in that very special way of his which meant that yes, he had. The reasons for Hatake's resentment for all things Kiri just kept on piling up.

“You're lying!” Sakura had to see little more than Junji's hand moving towards his mouth to know that for once, she wouldn't be Mei's biggest headache. He'd get in trouble for that later, she knew it, and Junji likely knew it as well. Apparently bearing the brunt of Mei's anger was worth going to extra mile just to aggravate this boy and, once the story made it back to him, Hatake himself. Biting his thumb, Junji then proceeded to slam his hand on the ground. A large cloud of smoke erupted from his palm and momentarily hid the two of them from view. As soon as it had appeared, the smoke cleared and revealed a small group of tall grey wolves.

“Hatake wolves, say 'hello'.” Huh. He really _had_ stolen that contract. Somehow, Sakura was both surprised yet not. She wondered if Hatake had despised her a little less, perhaps they would have had the same relationship Sakura now had with Junji. If they ever could have been friends. Telling herself that there was no use thinking about could-have-been's, Sakura instead stepped out of Junji's shadow and moved to his side.

“Remind me why I allowed this impertinent human to sign our contract?” the tallest wolf asked his brethren, none of which could answer him. They were beautiful animals, strong and muscular with shiny fur held in various shades of grey and white. The leader's eyes were icy blue while the rest of his pack featured darker colours; yellows, browns and even a single case of black.

“You smell of fish, distant cousin. Your eating habits are as deplorable as always,” a white wolf, female judging from the sound of her voice, growled as she sniffed Junji's left pant leg.

“Sea dog. Pah! You, fish girl, you smell of real dog. Where is the Hatake?” the leader demanded of Sakura who raised both her brows as she stared at Junji. Weren't summons supposed to be on one's side? These wolves gave off the impression of being rather unhappy about being bonded to the ANBU commander.

“That one, huh? He's about five minutes that way. Why don't you greet him? I'm sure he'd be overjoyed to see you,” Junji replied in her stead, not being subtle at all. Sakura felt like she should put a stop to this while she still could. That man already hated her and presumably, Junji as well. They didn't need to make it _worse_.

“Don't think I don't know what you're doing, sea dog. Pack! Move out,” the alpha wolf barked and off they went. Sakura stared after them until they were gone, then sighed.

“Mei is going to skin you,” she pointed out but not even that could rid Junji of his incredibly smug smirk.

“Absolutely worth it. Bastard gave me the only scar I ever had.” She could not for the life of her see, how that justified fanning the flames of an anger that already burned bright and strong.

“You are impossibly vain,” she eventually settled on before turning around and walking away from the scene. Junji thankfully followed her so that Sakura wouldn't be snatched by any of the countless ANBU sitting in the trees, just waiting for her to make a single step out of line.

“Not my fault, you know? It's in my blood.” She had the sneaking suspicion that this was the most overused excuse in all of Kiri.

“Tides help me...,” she mumbled to herself as she made her way back to their building in hopes of finding a safe place by Mei's side where the world was at least slightly less ridiculous.

As predicated, Mei was not happy. At all. Apparently a messenger from the Hokage herself had reached her before Junji and Sakura did. According to the note, two of her jounin were antagonising one of _her_ jounin and such behaviour was unacceptable. Sakura pointed out that he had verbally attacked her first and that she had little to do with the whole canine incident. She still stayed when Junji was yelled at. She did owe him.

“So... you and Hatake, hm?” Sakura asked when Mei had stormed off and left the two of them behind in the common room. Neither were allowed to leave for anything but food until the other delegations arrived and Konoha's focus wasn't entirely on them. Belatedly, Sakura realised that she'd been placed under house arrest. She truly thought she should protest that decision, but Isobu squashed the idea before it could bear fruit. Occasionally she wondered if the chakra turtle was more than just her impulse control.

“Oh, we go way back. I stole one of his bounties many years ago, he retaliated by blowing my cover during an undercover operation. And that was when we were still children!” Sakura let herself fall on one of the couches and stared at the ceiling.

“Admittedly, it somewhat escalated when we were teenagers and had sex in a damp cave-” Sakura's head whipped to the side and her eyes widened slightly upon realising that Junji seemed perfectly serious.

“You _what_?” she demanded because surely she must've misheard...

“We were both injured and running from our respective pursuers. It was cold and we had to share body heat somehow. He was a good lay, you see?” No. She did not see. And honestly never wanted to. Tides, her old teacher and closest friend... no. Sakura refused to think about it. Hatake had to be foaming at the mouth, especially once he realised that Sakura and Junji were friends and had been working together pretty much since the first day of her transfer to Kiri.

“You are the worst, Junji.” She was tired simply from wondering how much of Hatake's intense dislike for young her had been his fault. Surely she could shift some of the blame onto his shoulders, then later fight him and try to make him pay for the utter nightmare that had been her early life in Konoha...

“Ah, a little love never hurt anybody. You're sixteen, you must have gotten a taste.” She was not having that conversation and attempted to set him on fire with her eyes. Unfortunately for Sakura, it did not work.

“No thanks. Not interested,” she replied truthfully, then resolutely averted her eyes to stop Junji before he could gain traction.

“Hm... I suppose you did always take your vows seriously.” She frowned, and shifted so she could catch his gaze. Sakura waited for him to elaborate. He never did.

“ _I can't believe you missed her! What is wrong with you?” She rolled her eyes as she shrugged off her mantle and neatly folded it before placing it on a nearby cabinet._

“ _I blessed our people, Lagura. The ships just left the harbour. Word made it back of a small island to the West. The sea wants it claimed in her name,” she explained patiently while pulling various pins and jewelled ornaments from her hair. With a loud huff, her sister sat down on a chair next to her and aided her in that task._

“ _She asked for you. You're invited to the spire in two weeks' time.” She nodded, pleased. She had much to talk about with the reigning monarch who always silent supported the Order ever since she'd been chosen to ascend and become the Oracle. With her aid, they'd successfully kept the modernists at bay for over a hundred years._

“ _Please send one of the initiates and let her know I am happy to accept,” she replied and sighed once all the additional weight was removed from her head._

“ _Now then, tell me about this island,” her sister began as she dabbed a piece of cloth into a water basin and began removing the paint from her face._

“ _I communed with the sea. She showed me images of fire and a crimson-haired people. It was a warning and a call to arms. They must be destroyed before they can consume us,” she spoke and closed her eyes as she surrendered to her sister's loving touch._

“ _We shall celebrate them when they return. They will be victorious,” Lagura decided with an audible smile and moved a hand through her hair, dissolving one ceremonial braid after another._

“ _I am... unsure. I worry,” she admitted quietly in the privacy of the temple's sanctum. Nobody but the Oracle and her chosen attendant were allowed to enter these most sacred of halls. Only here did she feel safe enough to speak of her fears. The vision had felt... harrowing. Foreboding. She shivered._

“ _Have faith. They'll be fine. You'll see, Karata-”_

Back straight, feet together, face calm, hands clasped in front of her body. Mei had been very specific Sakura's pose be perfect for a reason she refused to share.

“I received word that the desert has been reclaimed. First impressions are paramount,” was all she had offered hours ago when she dipped her thumb into a tiny glass jar filled with bright red lip stain. The older woman had pressed a single dot of colour onto Sakura's lips before smearing it until her lips were painted a pale scarlet. She had sat quietly and without complaint as Mei braided her hair in an increasingly complex pattern before sliding a simple yet beautiful jade and silver pin through the strands behind her left ear.

“There you go. What a beauty you are,” the Terumi said with a smile and handed Sakura a small mirror. She had never worn makeup before and while the entire affair felt ridiculous, she could appreciate the contrast of her pale skin and the rich red on her mouth along with the black and dark green around her eyes. It wasn't much, little more than a hint of colour, and still the effect was noticeable. More than, even, if the Hyuuga's crimson blush once she caught sight of Sakura's face was anything to go by.

“Any reason you wish to greet the Suna delegation when you openly snubbed Grass two hours ago?” the Hokage asked quietly as they patiently waited for the Kazekage and his entourage to arrive.

“Why would I miss out on the chance to personally greet the new Kazekage?” Mei retorted and that alone told Sakura all she needed to know. The woman was here for _someone_ but it wasn't the kage.

“You two are a bad influence on each other,” the blonde snorted with a meaningful glance towards Sakura who bristled and bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from insulting the woman in front of her entire village. Mei smiled at the Senju, sharp and with a hint of teeth. The Hokage raised her brows but backed off. Cool fingers reached for Sakura's and linked them, the action hidden behind the flowing silk of Mei's skirt.

“There they come,” the older woman murmured. Sakura automatically straightened her back even further and squared her shoulders. As long as Mei did all the talking, she could look the part though she was dying to know why all this posturing was necessary. The first group of people that came into view was relatively unassuming. Suna-nin dressed in desert-typical clothing formed a straight line in front of whoever came after them. As they reached the gate, the men and woman parted to reveal a pair of people Sakura instantly recognised and yet... And _yet_.

Her breath got caught in her throat as she forgot to breathe the second she laid eyes on the female. She was... Sakura's words failed her as she stared at the woman who slowly approached them, a single step ahead of her brother. She remembered them. Two of the sand siblings who had been involved in the failed incursion during the chuunin exams years ago. The boy, Gaara, had been distant yet somehow still friendlier than the Konoha-nin. He was older, taller, more stately with the hat decorating his head. Most eyes were on him. Sakura's were glued to his sister.

She was taller than her brother and clad in white, beige and yellow chiffon that did little to hide the tattoos covering her body from neck to toe. Thick golden bands decorated her forearms and wrists along with a single choker around her throat. A large opal sat proudly on top of her forehead, decorated with tiny diamonds in a circle, the construct held together by incredibly delicate gold filigree. Her entire appearance was beyond exotic, yet still not her most striking feature. That was, by far, her eyes.

Golden particles, like dust or tiny grains of sand, streamed from the swirling shimmering mass that sat in the woman's eye sockets. The weaved around her body, deceptively calm yet Sakura didn't doubt that they could strike as quick as a snake if the situation called for it. Some of the dust floated around her brother's head and the longer Sakura stared at it, the more... tired she felt. Relaxed. As if she could lie down and have a nap-

“Don't look into her eyes,” Mei whispered and pinched Sakura's hand with her nails. The unexpected chakra interrupted the haze she caught herself in and as she blinked in confusion, noticed a few isolated particles withdrawing from her skin and returning to the woman.

“She is the Desert Fury, the primal power of Suna's homeland. Blessed and chosen by the East Wind, much like you and I are... well. You could say she's something of a distant relative of ours,” Mei spoke quizzically as the siblings came closer. Sakura made a valiant effort not to return her gaze to those molten orbs of pure gold and instead focused on her bare shoulders.

“Why does everyone else look at her brother?” she asked as watched the Hokage exchange greetings with the Kazekage.

“They don't see what we see. Your sight is still developing, but even you cannot deny such resplendent glory.” Mei sounded oddly... reverent. Respectful. Sakura held her tongue despite the burning need to ask questions and receive answers. The woman abandoned the side of her brother and came closer until she stopped just in front of Sakura and Mei.

“Congratulations, She of the East Wind. I am delighted to see your land returned to its ancient ways,” Mei spoke softly, both kind and courteous at the same time. Curiously enough, eyes and ears turned away from their small group. A sideways glance confirmed Sakura's suspicions. The woman's brother was speaking just a little louder than necessary, got more attention than strictly needed.

“As elated as I am surely, to see you reunited once more. I have seen your suffering. I am glad to have seen the last of it,” she replied, voice low and heavy, resonating with the same kind of timeless might Sakura had only ever experienced in Mei.

“I am not alone. The children of the sky and rain are mere hours behind me,” the woman added with a subtle nod of her head.

“How morbid, for us to gather at the graveyard of one of our own,” Mei commented, still oddly formal and as Sakura looked at her, swallowed audibly. There it was again, a glimpse into what was still hidden from Sakura; black eyes, grey scaly skin, a hint of fins on her arms, floaty and long enough to nearly touch the ground.

“Or the birthplace of a kindred spirit we have yet to meet,” the woman mused with the faint hint of a smile on her inked lips and very pointed look at the Hokage.

“How curious...,” the Terumi murmured as she, too, focused on the blonde woman who still exchanged pleasantries with the Kazekage.

“To our ways.” The woman extended her left arm. Mei copied the gesture, then nudged Sakura to follow suit. Together they grasped the female's forearm while her hand rested between them, gold dust curling around both their limbs. The contact sent a single pulse through Sakura's body as her very being violently resonated with whatever had touched her. As she looked down at their joined arms, she barely suppressed her gasp in time. The woman's skin had turned to molten gold that shimmered in the bright sunlight. Mei's arm was now a dark grey with hints of washed out red and dark blue shining through the translucent scales. And Sakura...

Sakura's arm was a pale, pastel mixture of green and teal with patches of darker turquoise skin strongly resembling webbing covering the outer side of her arm in a lovely yet painfully familiar pattern.

“To our ways,” Mei repeated the woman's words and Sakura, thoroughly mesmerised by the sight of her own arm which she now, for the first time in her life, saw as it truly was, echoed them tonelessly.

“ _They're dead... they all... burned...” She felt her hands slip and barely made it through the door. Her sister caught her just in time, then lowered her body onto the floor._

“ _We... we can try again, right? We can just... they won't... retaliate... right?” she asked, biting her lip as she started to disrobe her with shaky hands._

“ _I... I don't know.” Her chest rose and fell heavily. She was used to death. Her people lived and died on the battlefield and she blessed them before they began, and their bodies if they didn't make it out alive. But this..._ this _?_

“ _I'm... I'm scared,” her sister breathed and stilled, fingers curling into the soft silk of her robes. She reached for her sister's neck and pulled it downwards until their foreheads met._

_“Me too, Lagura. Me too,” she murmured as they breathed the same air and their heartbeats fell in sync._

“ _She will keep us safe. She has to.” Her sister broke into a quiet rhythm of hushed and quickly spoken prayers, nails cutting her skin, blood staining the white of her ceremonial dress._

“ _We'll never lose faith. I... I love you, Lagura. I will pray for your safety.” She was the elder, she had to stay strong. For her sister. Her Order. Her people. She was their light in the dark and as long as she shone brightly, they had someone to turn to. She closed her eyes and repeated those words in her head, over and over again. This was her sacred duty and she refused to fail when they needed her the most._

“ _And I for yours. I love you too, Ka-”_

_Fire. Flames. Death._

“ _Lagura? LAGURA!”_

_Charred. Broken. Lifeless._

“ _I... love... you,_

_Ka...ra...ta...chi...”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone only following this story, I have added two oneshots to this series: Monster, which recounts the chuunin exams fight between Sakura and Ino, and Desert Fury which gives insight into Suna and explains why Temari is the way she is. The latter especially probably goes a long way in bridging gaps, so I encourage you to take a look at that one.
> 
> Anyway, this is Konoha and it's only the beginning.


	14. Act II: Part VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura learns of things old and forgotten by most as the secrets surrounding her identity began to unravel and an unknown force strikes where Kiri is most vulnerable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I highly recommend you to read "Titania" before this unless you wish to be confused by what I've done to Konan. 
> 
> @Saphirien: Lagura is indeed the origin of the Karatachi naming traditions. :) I wish I could say more about your speculations but all that would be rife with spoilers so I won't. I'm just happy you seem to enjoy my story and hope you will continue to! :)  
> @Berbear: I really did go a little overboard with all my worldbuilding but it's like an addiction. I'm just glad you like it.  
> @gicazupiroli: Thank you for reading my fic! It's good to hear you enjoy the culture and mysteries. =)  
> @cubanabruja1: Well, some of the things you wished for are here. :) And tensions will definitely rise as you can see from the way this chapter ended.
> 
> Enjoy reading!

“ _Are there... others, out there? People like us?”_

“ _Yes. Six of them.”_

“ _What are they like?”_

“ _Beautiful. Terrible. Ancient. Each and everyone of them a perfect mirror of the land they embody.”_

“ _Have you ever met one?”_

“ _Yes.”_

“ _...and?”_

“ _He killed me.”_

“She arrives.” Sakura looked up at the Suna woman's words only to instantly shut her eyes. A blinding light approached them, shining so bright the image had burned itself into Sakura's retina.

“How odd to see her leave her realm,” Mei commented and curiosity made Sakura squint her eyes open only to sigh in relief upon noticing that the radiance had dimmed. A few minor lights danced around the woman that walked beside the Amekage, ethereal and shimmering as if she wasn't quite... there. Her hair was even longer than Mei's, a soft blue mass that floated behind her form and perfectly complemented her blazing orange eyes. Much like earlier, everyone's attention rested on her male companion while Sakura found it impossible to avert her gaze.

“Who is she?” she asked, endlessly fascinated by how the woman's skin was clear and sparkling, like living breathing crystal or diamonds or something entirely else Sakura couldn't name. Water dripped off her frame and the second she set foot into the village, the sky darkened ever so slightly as a light shower of rain fell from clouds that appeared suddenly without any prior warning.

“Titania, lady of the sky, the rain, keeper of children and stars alike,” the Desert Fury – Temari, as she had been introduced by her brother, answered and Sakura couldn't help but feel inferior as she basked in the presence of godlike ancient beings, privy to their secrets while she... she was just...

“A rare pleasure, milady,” the Suna spoke gallantly with a nod of her head as their group was joined by another, the diamond woman and her lights that chirped in excitement, fluttering in and out of Sakura's reach, humming and singing like birds.

“I have seen you. I was... curious,” she answered, voice sweet and melodic, just begging Sakura to follow her every lead, listen to her every word. Orange flares moved from Mei to Sakura where they got stuck, brightened, then shifted and changed, turning darker and redder.

“She is... not herself.” Sakura was caught in her gaze, mouth slightly agape as the world around her faded and disappeared, the clouds dispersed and gave way to a different sky, one covered in stars and bright purple lights-

“Not yet.” Mei's nails clawed themselves into Sakura's hand and pulled her from whatever haze she'd been stuck in. With a snap and a pop, she felt her soul released from the woman's grasp. Slightly dazed, she looked out to orientate herself, calmed beyond words by the rain, clouds and normal, boring horizon. The woman's eyes sparkled, then returned to their former orange.

“The sky watches over all. Smoke and flame are brewing in the ancestral lands of the fire birds. If the cycle is to begin anew, you do not have much time to reclaim her.” The words were meant for Mei, yet Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that something stirred in the depths of her mind, something old and dark that sent shivers down her spine. Sakura thought back to the red-haired demon with fire leaking from her eyes and the all-consuming flames she had launched at them, this woman of inferno and ash, ready to to turn them all to dust. Her breath accelerated and she found herself reaching for Mei's hand as the pressure in her throat increased.

“Every entity has its own ways, Titania. Just as I do not claim to understand yours, do refrain from assuming you know ours.” A warning, dripping from Mei's lips like water, that didn't appear to affect their intended recipient. Sakura's grip on Mei's hand strengthened and this time, the feel of smooth scales and cool skin didn't ruffle her. Instead, it was vaguely comforting. Familiar. Whatever presence had taken root in her head settled down with a satisfied hum.

“It _is_ disconcerting to only see half of you. You were not meant to be split in two,” the Suna female hummed thoughtfully with a critical gaze at Mei. Now that the two power's focus was no longer on Sakura, she noticed that their eyes shone much brighter whenever they turned to Mei. Once their focus was on Sakura they... almost squinted. As if they had trouble seeing her, as if she wasn't entirely there.

“Much like you we are but a reflection of our creator,” Mei replied diplomatically and very pointedly moved her hand to rest upon Sakura's narrow shoulders. Getting somewhat tired of being talked about and not with, especially considering that these other two seemed to be of the impression that Sakura was somewhat lacking, she opened her mouth to speak only to be interrupted before she could begin.

“I see you already met Konan! I'm Yahiko, very pleased to meet you.” As if a flip had been switched, the heaviness in the air Sakura only noticed now that it was gone, disappeared. Breathing was much easier now and looking at the other members of their small group, Sakura noticed that their auras had retreated underneath their skin. The lights surrounding the Titania – Konan – stuck closer to her head as opposed to roaming about freely, while most of the lingering golden dust seeped back into the Desert Fury's eyes.

“The first Amekage, founding member of Ame's infamous Akatsuki,” Mei spoke but Sakura's attention was drawn to the way the kage's hand brushed against the Titania's in an undeniably loving gesture. More than one reason to leave her home and follow this man then.

“I hope there is no lingering animosity between us?” he now asked, more wary than before. The Titania didn't seem inclined to contribute to or diffuse the sudden tension between the Amekage, Mei and for an unknown reason, the Fury. Mei smiled sweetly, and Sakura wondered if her reaction would be any different were she not surrounded by these powerful entities.

“None at all. Sakura took care of that problem quite nicely.” The man's eyes now found hers and she forced her face to remain still and blank. Let him scrutinise her all he wanted. He'd get nothing more than what was already said.

“I hope our uncle doesn't give you much trouble,” the Suna interjected airily, the very picture of calm and poise. The Amekage's expression tightened and he shook his head.

“My old teacher was quite fond of him. Do let him know that the desert is no longer a safe place for Akasuna no Sasori. If he wishes to live he should avoid drawing the attention of the East Wind.” He frowned at her words and looked ready to ask for details when the Titania stopped him with a gentle tug accompanied by a small smile.

“It wouldn't do to disrespect another's realm. We shall let him know,” she spoke softly, gave the Kazekage's sister a nod, then guided the kage away from their group and back towards their entourage.

“We will reconvene at dinner,” the Suna bid her goodbyes before also returning to her brother's side and the other Suna-nin. Sakura was left standing by Mei's side, confused, agitated with no small amount of irritation bubbling beneath the surface.

“I want answers,” she hissed underneath her breath and allowed the older woman to lead her back towards their housing after the appropriate parting words were uttered. The entire experience meeting those two women had been surreal to say the least. Sakura had assumed that their traditions and practises were just that. Habits. Paying respect to the sea that nourished them and hone their ancestor's ways of seeking combat and bloodshed. She could excuse the lack of information regarding her own bloodline. After seeing Hoshigaki the idea of being part... creature, didn't faze Sakura as much as the knowledge that it had been deliberately _kept_ from her. Mei had known. Junji had known, everyone had known and never told her. And now... after seeing the sheer power and... _magic_ that made up those two beings? Avatars? Personifications? Only for them to imply that Mei was one of their own and Sakura was _supposed_ to be... She would not be appeased this time. This time, Sakura would insist.

“Ah... S- Sakura-san?” Biting her lip to stop herself from snarling at the Hyuuga, Sakura turned around, unable to quite temper the anger in her eyes. There she stood, slightly red around the cheeks with a polite smile and surrounded by a small number of women, Sakura recognised at varying degrees. Her gaze got stuck on the one with blonde hair that rivalled Sakura's in length and pupilless icy blue eyes. It travelled downwards, to the girl's neck, shoulders, arm- A long, wide silver scar marred flawless pale skin and Sakura's memory supplied her with images of blades, blood, and terrified screams. Bloodlust and excitement surged up within her and threatened to seep into the air so she put a tight lid on it and quietly urged the sanbi to sit on it.

“Yes?” she asked, followed the Hyuuga's look and noticed that the tips of her fingers were still entwined with Mei's. Reluctant though she was, Sakura let go and turned to fully face the Konoha-nin.

“I... I was wondering if you'd l-like to visit the hot springs... I heard t-that Kirigakure doesn't have any s-so I thought...,” the girl stuttered while nervously rubbing her hands. Sakura definitely did not want to spend any time with her companions all of which gave her different variations of the nasty look and was beyond grateful for having a valid excuse.

“I am allergic to freshwater. Sorry,” she said, not feeling sorry at all and with a shrug made a move to join Mei and finally get the explanations she deserved, when the older woman smiled and sidestepped Sakura.

“Hyuuga-san, is it?” The girl blushed furiously and nodded quickly, eyes very much stuck on Mei's hand on Sakura's arm. The other hand reached into the depths of her dress and produced a small flask which she then offered to the Konoha-nin.

“Sakura-chan's skin is very delicate but if you help her apply this oil, she will be protected for up to three hours,” the older woman spoke and Sakura bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood.

“O-oh, really? S-Sure I can h-help if you want me to.” Tides, the girl was so red in the face Sakura worried she was going to faint again.

“Why do you even carry that around with you?” she hissed quietly only to be pinched in the side and gently shoved forwards.

“You go enjoy yourself for a while. Hyuuga-san I trust you to bring her back by sunset so we have enough time to prepare for the banquet.” With a smile and wave, Mei turned around and left. Simply _left_. Sakura was fuming and bit down on her tongue to keep herself from cursing the woman's name, ancestry and just generally anything associated with her. It wasn't even that Sakura minded Hinata. But the rest... She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then walked up to the Hyuuga.

“Lead the way,” she ground out and to her horror realised that the other females _followed_. The blonde Yamanaka she had scarred years ago refused to even look in her direction while the Hyuuga's old sensei inspected Sakura as if she were a particularly rabid dog. The one with hair pulled into twin buns at the very least seemed neutral, if somewhat sceptical.

“S-So how can you fight w-with suiton jutsu if you are allergic?” Their group walked down the main road of Konoha, through the markets and towards an area Sakura dimly recognised as the entertainment district. She'd never spent any time there but the sickly sweet air and bright banners gave the truth away.

“My chakra produces seawater,” Sakura answered mindlessly as she tried not to take offence to being stared at. While the makeup itself wasn't particularly noteworthy, her clan trappings and nigh outrageously fancy braid made her stand out like a sore thumb. She almost growled at a gawking civilian and only Isobu's quick interference caught, then squashed the impulse in time.

“I didn't know chakra c-could do that,” Hinata replied with a sideways glance as they entered the hot springs resort. The insides were walm and welcoming with pale wood, plenty of flowers and pristine white tiles. A small number of women were already inside, getting changed or involved in friendly small talk. They didn't pay the new arrivals much attention which Sakura was grateful for. With a sigh, she opted to ignore her company and undressed quickly and efficiently. The decorative pin Mei had stuck into her braid was nice to look at as well as functional so she coiled the braid around itself before using the pin to attach the construct to the back of her head. Just as she reached for a towel to wrap around her body, the Hyuuga peaked around a corner.

“T-The oil,” she squeaked and forced her eyes shut as she offered Sakura the flask with outstretched hands. Accepting the offering, she murmured a quick thanks before removing the stopper and taking a sniff. The total lack of fragrance was dubious though Sakura trusted Mei not to accidentally poison her. Applying the substance as a time consuming process that, in Sakura's opinion, was very far from worth it indeed. Taking great care to cover every inch of exposed skin, Sakura hit a snag upon trying to reach her back. She sighed. No way around it.

“Hinata-san. I would appreciate your assistance,” she called out from behind the screen. A quiet gasp heralded the arrival of the girl. Sakura wordlessly handed her the flask before turning around and dropping the towel so it rested low on her hips.

“Y-y-y-yes.” Tides help her. The Hyuuga's touch was so light Sakura barely noticed it and the entire affair was over almost as quickly as it had begun. She had fled before Sakura could even thank her. With another weary sigh, she wrapped the towel around her body once more and left the changing rooms. Granted, the outside area was even nicer than the establishment. Surrounded by rocks and no pesky flora, the entire atmosphere was relaxed and calming. A gust of wind from the nearby forest ruffled her hair and Sakura sneezed violently.

“Damn allergies,” she grumbled to herself and resolved to ask their ANBU medic for another allergy shot once she saw her next. Gingerly Sakura dipped the tips of her toes into the water as if she expected to be bit. She still vividly recalled the last rash she'd gotten and the pure agony the following trip to the hospital had been.

“I never heard of anyone being allergic to water of all things,” Hinata's sensei claimed with a critical look. This time Sakura couldn't keep the sneer inside and scoffed at the older woman as she sank into the water sans towel. The Hyuuga's face turned a furious red and she religiously averted her gaze.

“It's part of my bloodline,” she replied coldly and sat down on a rock bench, arms crossed in front of her chest. Every cell of her body wanted to leave. The oil seemed to be doing its job but it did little to calm her nerves.

“I don't recall you testing positive for a kekkei genkai.” Sakura's throat rumbled as she let out a quiet growl, jade eyes drilling themselves into scarlet ones.

“You never thought it was necessary. You assumed I was civilian-born.” Technically Konoha couldn't be blamed for that. The Karatachi name had never been in the picture until Sakura had disclosed the information to Hatake. Still. This woman clearly had some lingering resentment if not outright distrust and she'd certainly not take without giving in return.

“That seems like a highly impractical bloodline.” It was the first time since running into her, that the blonde Yamanaka spoke up. She didn't look at Sakura with her head leaned back and eyes shut, but the underlying tension in her words was clearly audible. Feathers successfully ruffled. Sakura clenched her teeth and dug her fingers into the rock beneath her.

“It must seem that way, from the perspective of a mainlander.” Her response was snide and forced through her teeth like a curse. These bland uninspired people had no right to look down on the most noble of heritages-

Sakura briefly shook her head to rid herself of the utter feeling of wrongness that had taken over for a mere fraction of a second. Where had that thought come from?

' _Do not worry about that. You are right after all._ ' Ever helpful, Sakura thought darkly as she rubbed her temples. As if she didn't already have enough to deal with she now had a sudden headache to combat.

“A-are you alright?” The girl had inched closer without Sakura noticing. The other three females rested on the opposite end of the hot spring, unconcerned and determined to ignore Sakura, the oldest red-eyed woman being the exception. She watched them like a hawk.

“Yes. Thank you.” She did her best to smile at Hinata, a small and stiff thing from lack of practise. Sakura hated this whole charade, hated Mei even more for burdening her with this. Sakura knew she was... _wired_ differently. That, combined with no socialisation during her early or even late childhood had resulted in a significant deficit in emotional matters. Mei accepted her how she was, read her without Sakura being forced to try and express herself. But now?

“I'm sorry. I don't spend a lot of time talking to others.” It was a hard truth to admit since she generally didn't like to be confronted with the reality of lacking, even less so when those qualities were normal and expected among the general population. Tides, Sakura despised Konoha. Kiri was easier. At least in that place nobody held misplaced affection for her or worse, actively sought her company. She certainly didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't.

“I-It's alright. You d-don't have to talk if it makes you uncomfortable,” the girl whispered shyly, soft blush dusting her cheeks. Her hands were folded in her lap and upon becoming aware of Sakura's attention, the blush extended down her neck and onto her collarbones.

“ANBU,” Sakura said, successfully catching Hinata's attention. Silence settled as she scrambled her brain for ways to voice her thoughts and try to engage the Hyuuga.

“I was ANBU for three years. There's not a lot of socialising.” And what an understatement that was. Sakura remembered Dog, Bear and Mouse, two of which had hardly spoken a single word to her, while one had been her executioner in disguise. Not to mention that she herself had been positively feral. ANBU had been Konoha letting go of her chain. They had allowed her to descend into the darkest depths of her clan's rage and she had lost herself... until Mei had pulled her from the well. Sudden warmth bloomed in her stomach and if her eyes softened ever so slightly, Hinata didn't remark on it.

“I-Is ANBU in Kirigakure similar to those in K-Konoha? I don't mean to p-pry I'm just curious...” The girl trailed off into incomprehensible mutterings and for a brief moment, Sakura wondered if perhaps the Hyuuga had received orders from her kage as well. She seemed so genuine yet on the other hand wasn't that the greatest disguise of them all? Realising that she'd been staring without saying anything, Sakura caught herself and considered her answer.

“The different divisions are roughly the same. Since our bloodlines are more obscure and less known, we specialise in hunter-nin while Konoha employs regular seek and destroy squads for such tasks. We use clan names with various mask patterns and colours instead of animal themes and designations,” Sakura explained and imagined herself to deliver a lecture or report instead of holding a conversation. It worked to stifle the awkwardness she felt at having to talk to someone face to face.

“As for the nature of the missions themselves...” She remembered entering towns in the dead of the night in their team of four, slitting throats of men, women and children alike, setting explosives in the middle of a lively town square, chasing down a pregnant woman...

“They're not as different as you might think they are.” Hinata's eyes flashed with something Sakura couldn't place but she got the distinct impression that despite her innocence, she fully understood the real weight of Sakura's statement.

“There's a saying in Kiri. 'Trust the teeth, not the mouth.' It means-”

“That someone who bares their teeth in aggression is honest about their intentions while someone who talks and smiles hides their fangs behind honeyed words and false niceties.” Sakura blinked, momentarily stunned. She stared at the girl, then narrowed her eyes. Hinata blushed fiercely and averted her gaze, biting her lip.

“It... it just seemed plausible,” she murmured nervously while playing with her hands. Sakura still stared, caught off guard and genuinely surprised at the astuteness of the Hyuuga she had assumed to be a mere fish in the face of bigger and stronger predators. Perhaps she had been wrong. This time, when the corners of her mouth quirked upwards she didn't have to force the action. If there was more to this girl than she'd originally assumed it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

“My skin itches.” Sakura was not amused. And that was putting it mildly. She positively stomped inside the building after saying her goodbyes to Hinata who'd kindly escorted her back to the Kiri residence. The hot springs hadn't been as terrible as they could've been. That brief outburst had shown Sakura that deep underneath all the annoyances, the girl hid a spine and a sharp intellect. She'd be lying if she claimed not to be curious about what the Hyuuga could be like once she stopped being such a stuttering mess. Sakura suspected she might even enjoy her company.

As it was, talking to the girl had been easier after that. She never forced her to speak when she didn't want to, didn't mind when Sakura had nothing to offer concerning a particular subject. Even ignoring their hostile audience hadn't been much of a chore. Hinata could be surprisingly engaging when she wanted to. The problem had arisen afterwards. Sakura cursed as she stumbled into her room. A brief inspection eased her worries that she'd broken out in another rash. The itch on the other hand... damn that ruddy itch!

“Time does fly when you're having fun.” Mei was in Sakura's room, lounging on the bed like a queen, absolutely unconcerned in the face of her budding irritation. With a wiggle of her fingers, she waved Sakura closer who growled, then complied. A practised movement later, the shawl around her shoulders dropped to the floor, soon followed by the wrapped skirt.

“You threw me to the wolves,” Sakura complained while removing her weapons from her person. One blade after another found its way onto the wardrobe and once she had shed all the additional weight, finally turned her attention to the mess on top of her head.

“Let me take care of that,” Mei said before reaching for Sakura's braid.. Sakura grumbled unhappily but sat down on the floor in front of the bed nevertheless, back resting against Mei's shins. With speed and efficiency that suggested she'd done this a thousand times before, Mei untangled knots and undid all the complicated braids and weaves she'd created hours ago.

“I need answers. I think I've waited long enough,” Sakura sighed as her earlier tension melted away. She'd long since given up on pondering the sheer ridiculousness that was Mei's instant effect on Sakura's state of mind with little more than a few touches. The older woman gave a non-committal hum as she worked, fingers moving in and out of Sakura's hair in a steady rhythm. The contact soothed her and sooner than expected, her eyes fell shut and she allowed herself to drift.

“Thousands of years ago, the world was different.” Sakura's breath evened as she allowed the older woman to lull her into a trance. Her chakra hummed behind her and Sakura's own brushed against it, mingled, trickled along like a peaceful stream.

“There were no villages, no tailed beasts, no shinobi and no jutsu. There was the sea, the forests, the earth, the sky, the storm, the wind... the fire.” Mei had produced a comb from somewhere and was now moving it through Sakura's strands, working out tiny knocks and kinks before going top to bottom in one smooth stroke.

“Power has always existed, long before we learned to command some small fraction of it for ourselves. It resided in all aspects of the world, in every tree, every drop of rain, every flash of lightning. It lived. Breathed. And eventually, took shape.” Every strand of Sakura's pink hair was given the utmost attenion, smoothed to perfection with a kind of affection and love she had so desperately missed.

“The eternal fires assumed the form of a gigantic bird, a phoenix, the first of its kind. The sky and rain turned every little star, every tiny droplet into small child-like creatures of pure light. The storm became a mighty wolf, a beast consisting entirely of crackling lightning. The forest breathed life into its own kind, turned its trees mobile and sentient. The earth formed into the heart of the mountain, a shared organ pulsing and giving birth to massive stone giants. The wind swirled and danced, took the sand of its plains and combined them into the three primal djinn. And the sea...” Mei paused momentarily before placing the comb aside and once again weaving patterns into Sakura's hair, different ones, _old_ ones, so ancient they hadn't been worn by anyone for an eternity.

“The sea gave rise to the mighty leviathan, the deep sea serpent, the monster hiding in the dark, eater of worlds... the two-headed fury of the ocean.” Something in Sakura's chest constricted violently and as she began to flail, Mei's arms pinned her in place. Pain exploded in every inch of her body, a sharp cutting agony that originated from her heart and raced into every corner of her being. Her chakra gathered, built, then between one moment and the next pushed beneath her skin. The resulting noise nearly deafened her as she screamed her throat raw, jerked, attempted to claw at her chest, anything just to make it stop-

“Hush... settle... you are not ready yet, hush my darling...” The pain receded, slithered back through her body and into her heart, leaving in its wake burning threads. Sakura wailed and cried, sobbed into Mei's embrace as her breath was cut short by this blazing agony-

“Shhhhh...,” the woman murmured and gently palmed the top of her head, long spindly fingers gliding through pink strands. Sakura had no concept of time or indeed, anything at all as she fought through the aftershocks of whatever had taken ahold of her, a boneless mask held upright only by her rock.

“What... why...” She couldn't form sentences, could hardly think, stiff and sluggish, wrapped in a blanket of lingering searing echoes. The pressure on her sides faded as Mei returned her attention to braiding Sakura's hair, legs moving apart ever so slightly to give her something to rest against. She had no energy to keep herself upright.

“Eventually, humanity rose up, spread all over the world, naturally drawn to places of power. They revered these beings as deities, prayed to them, brought them offerings, made their sacrifices. Each of these primal creatures had different desires, different tastes. And thus, the old ways were born.” Mei resumed her tale, unconcerned by Sakura's state as if she had expected it. Every now and then, sharp claws brushed against her skin and she couldn't help wonder what she would see, were she to look at Mei this very moment. Her body was not under her command and her nerves were on fire so Sakura never found out.

“But humanity did not always do as it was supposed to. They had no way to communicate with their gods and through prosperity, calamity and what comes in between, they suffered at the whims of the oftentimes cruel beings.” Any noise from the outside faded away as Mei's voice became the only sound in Sakura's world, along with the fingers that weaved through her hair, threaded tiny strings of chakra into her fancy braids.

“So inevitably, they fought back. They couldn't kill these creatures, but they could stop their prayers, refuse offerings, scorn sacrifices. And surprisingly enough, that was how they succeeded.” Sakura's breath evened out as the ache ebbed away, leaving behind little more than a gaping void of numbness.

“Power, like everything else, needs to be believed in. With no one to have faith in it, recognise it for what it is, it will fade into obscurity. The old ones had already begun to weaken by the time humans dragged them away from the edges of their eternal sleep. Faith became a weapon to be wielded by the oppressed.” She drifted, body sheltered, mind softly pulled along, down the tream of consciousness by deceptively frail scaled digits.

“As they realised they were dying, it was almost too late. One after another, they chose one of their formerly faithful, the one they deemed worthy, and merged their power with them, turning them into their avatar. Through these chosen ones, they could speak to their humans, negotiate, arrange terms and agreements, enter a new golden age of cooperation.” Images of the two women she had met hours earlier entered her mind, their contrasting otherworldly beauty of gold and sand, stars and diamonds. The almost suffocating auras they radiated, full of whispers and remnants of ancient, long-forgotten magnificence.

“All, except the leviathan. Its people never abandoned it, bore its whims through all the ships it sunk, all the coastal cities it drowned, all the lives it claimed. They respected the ocean's infinite fury, her capability to bring life and death in equal measure, never turned their eyes away from her, their be-all and end-all.” Dark swirls crept into Sakura's vision, blue, green and teal, taking shape and forming into two sets of eyes, all four of them shiny black orbs attached to something so much bigger than herself.

“It fed upon their unwavering faith, gorged itself and amassed more power than any of its brethren ever had. Nothing could harm it. Nothing could stop it. And inspired, its people honoured it by going out into the world, fighting, claiming, slaughtering... Turning the other old ones against it.” Mei's fingers moved from the top of Sakura's head to the middle part of her hair and repeated the same patterns she had already weaved.

“None of them could stand against it. They were too weak in comparison, helpless. Not wind, earth, nature, lightning or rain could end it. But fire? Oh, fire could. The leviathan sent its warriors to the folds of the flaming bird, to extinguish it before it could rise up against them. But like fire and water, the sun and the moon, they were weak to it. The bird breathed and breathed and turned them all to ash.” Smoke and the smell of burning flesh entered Sakura's nose and she shuddered violently.

“The phoenix came for its home and people and, realising it was going to waste away without being nourished by its faithful, the leviathan made one last desperate attempt to persevere. It watched and waited for the right moment, observed and coiled ready to strike like the serpent it was. Its patience paid off.” Mei's movements never faltered, voice calm and undisturbed as if she recounted boring tax reports instead of a history so old and obscure Sakura had never heard of it before. Considering she had grown up in this village she couldn't help but wonder if some parts of the Nations had simply... forgotten.

“It was at the top of the tallest spire, that he found them. The one who gave her life to try and protect her people, the other who gave her life to slay the cursed beast. Two souls, one of guidance and protection, the other of faith and strength. Two aspects and two heads. A perfect reflection of itself. The ones who were _worthy_.” Sakura remembered the song Mei had sung on that boat days ago and finally put the pieces together as she rested, lost in the older woman's words.

“Their bodies were the first it claimed, dragged down to the deepest depths, right to the heart of its lair. And there, it opened its mouths and consumed them. More than their mortal shells, it took their souls and twisted them, transferred its power into their very essence, tied itself to their blood and legacy.” One last echo of her earlier agony pulsed through her body and Sakura moved her hands to her heart, dug them into the fabric of her clothing.

“To Queen Terumi it gave the unwavering will to lead her people, protect her home at any cost and watch over the other half of her soul. To Oracle Karatachi, it gave the brunt of its fury, the strength to defeat her foes and to safeguard and avenge her counterpart. It created them to be an unstoppable force, two who would always seek each other and never fail the other. It created them to, when united, be perfection.” With one last gentle stroke, Mei abandoned Sakura's hair and got off the bed.

“A thousand years ago, it turned our clans into what they are today,” she spoke as she walked over to a small ornate box Sakura hadn't spotted until now. From its depths, she pulled items Sakura vaguely recognised as different kinds of makeup. Still too overwhelmed and confused by everything that happened in the last few hours, she surrendered to her fate and didn't fight Mei when she knelt down in front of her and began painting her face. Even if she wanted to, she lacked all energy to do anything about it.

“That is all I can tell you. There is more, but the importance of you discovering the missing piece at the exact right time is paramount. Too soon or too late... and it dooms us forever. I am sorry, Karatachi-chan,” Mei murmured as she dragged a brush coated in a dark starry teal over her lips, then drew a straight line downwards, over her chin and throat and only stopped once she reached the swell of her chest. A pattern identical to the one she had drawn onto her body with blood just before their departure from Kiri.

“Is that why I feel so... different around you? Calm, peaceful-”

“Whole? Yes. You are incomplete, just as I am. We each carry half a soul as countless generations before us. Apart, we are mere shadows of ourselves, reduced to the most basic parts of our aspects. Only together, are we one.” The rage, the bonding, everything that had occurred to her within the past year and then some suddenly became so much clearer. The co-dependency of their clans, Mei's unimaginable pain upon telling Sakura that she had been forced to strike down Yagura, her insistence Sakura stay near her at all times... Isobu's rage once she admitted to seeking distance.

“If all this is ancient history... why do I only learn of this now? Why did Konoha never teach me?” Sakura asked as she wearily adjusted her position at Mei's quiet command. There was no point questioning her actions.

“When I look at this land and its people, everything is dull. The colours are washed out, doused in a gloomy grey light. With the death of her last avatar, Senju Hashirama, Konoha abandoned her old ways and left her native power to rot. There is no mysticism in this place and over the course of three hundred years, all remnants of her ancient glory faded away into nothingness,” Mei explained patiently while drawing lines in green and blue around Sakura's eyes.

“They forgot. It's as simple as that. They re-invented themselves as the most modern village of them all, the centre of science and medicine. There is no place for tradition in their hearts and minds. Tsunade herself looks down on us for our different practises and ways of life while she herself is oh so close to becoming so much more.” Sakura perked up at that and frowned slightly only to be pinched by Mei.

“Don't move,” she ordered before using a tissue to wipe some smudged paint off Sakura's face.

“What did you mean by that?” she asked and blinked furiously once Mei finished lining her lids and waterline. There was a reason Sakura generally stayed away from makeup, especially around her eyes.

“Faith and belief breed power. Their faith in their modern medicine and healing is so strong, it slowly begins to take shape. I didn't notice until the East Wind pointed it out but there is colour returning to this village. And Tsunade... she is their legendary medic, their bastion of light and hope. Every time a woman begs her to save her child or a man wakes up, alive, to her face, they pray to her.” A vial filled with what looked like liquid silver entered Sakura's field of view. Very carefully, with the aid of a tiny brush, Mei gently dabbed the substance on top of her lids.

“Medicine and healing is this land's new religion and Tsunade its chosen leader. I hope to see what she turns into. We have seen the fall of faith and death of tradition yet never before have we witnessed the birth of something new.” With a tiny smile, Mei withdrew and critically inspected the fruits of her labour. Sakura wasn't sure if she imagined the way her gaze softened, turned wistful almost, but the next time she blinked any trace of that had vanished.

“I have packed your garments for tonight's banquet as well as some jewellery. We will attend the affair as the most shining examples of our culture that we can possibly be. The presence of the Titania and the East Wind demands no less.” Too caught up in recent revelations, Sakura didn't even think of protesting. Especially considering the quiet whisper at the back of her mind telling her just how much she wanted this, wanted to be dressed like her ancestors, wanted to drown in the ancient ways of her people and kneel for her leviathan was no longer as quiet as it used to be.

Junji blinked. The ANBU froze while the jounin and chuunin were less mild in their reactions and openly stared alongside their genin. The turtle girl even went red in the face, a scarlet so bright it rivalled that of her male team mates.

“Karatachi-sama,” Junji eventually rumbled and lowered his head, a motion immediately copied by his squad and then, one by one, the other Kiri shinobi. Sakura swallowed audibly and nervously smoothed the skirt of her robes, valiantly ignoring the sweatiness of her palms. Mei's hand on her shoulder was a grounding presence but did little to get rid of her growing unease. Such an open show of deference didn't sit well with her. In her opinion some makeup, jewellery and change in wardrobe didn't call for such a show of respect.

“So she is-” The orphan, Ren, fell silent immediately when one of his female team mates elbowed him in the side. Sakura folded her hands in front of her body to stop fidgeting. She had complained to Mei earlier about how naked and unprotected she felt. She would not bring either of her tanto and was only allowed her katana which she would carry in her left hand while the right would remain empty next to Mei's. The older woman's clan blade already rested on a table next to Sakura's, ready to be picked up at any time.

“You have ten minutes until we depart. Hamamura, fix your paint,” Mei ordered briskly. The girl in question squeaked before frantically looking for a mirror to inspect her facial markings. In comparison to Sakura's they were rather minimalist: two small yellow dots underneath each eye and a straight line going from the top of her head down to the top of her lips. The bottom part of her markings was a little rough around the edges, slightly smudged. The girl furiously scrubbed at her skin before reapplying her paint with great care.

Each of the genin wore their own design in different colours, all of similar simplicity. Even Ren bore a single red circle on his chin, declaring him a clanless child of the extremely few immigrants Kiri had over the years. The ANBU's faces were still covered by their masks which they wouldn't take off but the jounin and chuunin also wore their heritage on their skin in the form of slightly more elaborate designs. Even Junji had pale blue lines decorating his cheeks and eyes. Yet they all had one thing in common: none of their paint made it past their necks.

Sakura lowered her gaze to stare at the entwined blue and green lines running down the sides of her arms and thought of the wavelike pattern Mei had applied to her shoulders, neck and upper back. A pattern eerily similar yet completely different to Mei's own. She only wished the two of them weren't the only ones so incredibly made up. While the rest of their group also wore traditional clothing as opposed to their usual outfits and uniforms, they lacked the silvery filigree Mei had insisted Sakura wear around her biceps, neck and even waist.

Not to mention the robes. Sakura thanked the tides that at least they covered more of her body than the ceremonial garb she had worn during the blessing ritual. Still... she couldn't say she was a fan of the long airy skirt or the thin silk covering her front while leaving her back and shoulders completely exposed.

Reminding herself that things could always be worse, Sakura snuck a glance at Mei's robes which were similar to her own but featured high slits in the cloth of her skirt that reached all the way up to her thighs and showed the sides of her legs. Only thin silver chains held the skirt together and prevented the cloth from moving out of place. In addition to that, the older woman had to deal with wide strands of silk that were attached to the jewellery around her upper arms and nearly touched the floor. Clad in dark shimmering teal and midnight blue respectively, they both clearly looked like they were meant to go together. Instead of contrasting one another they matched in a way that for a reason she couldn't name, immensely satisfied her.

“Do you remember what I told you?” Mei asked as she absent-mindedly double-checked the artful braids she had woven into Sakura's hair while her own had been pulled back into an elaborate knot at the back of her head. The bulk of her auburn strands spilled from its confines and rolled down her back in gentle waves.

“Remain quiet and calm, stay by your side, try not to interact with the Suna or Ame avatar because they have trouble seeing you and forcing them to would be rude,” Sakura repeated the basic rules Mei had supplied her with. The older woman nodded, then guided her to where their blades laid and handed Sakura her personalised clan katana.

“You wear yours left, I wear mine right. After our entry, we will give them to Yuki for safekeeping. I shall handle the bulk of dinner conversation while you focus on your Hyuuga. I have no doubt the girl will have secured herself a place at the main table.” After their talk in the hot springs, Sakura quietly agreed. The girl was most tenacious when nobody paid attention.

“Are you ready?” Sakura nodded and clenched her hand tighter around the handle of her katana, thumb resting on its hilt. Mei's fingers brushed against hers and this time, when she blinked, the grey scales stayed.

The walk to the venue itself took barely any time at all. A thin cloak hid most of their appearance from gawking civilians and upon reaching the establishment in which the banquet was held, Sakura felt reluctant to lose it. While they weren't late by any stretch of the imagination, they had cut it quite close. The festivities as they were had already begun so Sakura could confidently claim that Mei had made sure to arrive at exactly this moment. So everyone would witness their arrival. Occasionally she wished she wasn't bonded to a politician and this was one of these times.

Mei nudged her and Sakura's grip on her weapon relaxed immediately. Releasing a shaky breath, Sakura squared her shoulders and readied herself. This couldn't possibly be any worse than their arrival in Konoha. She was wrong.

Every voice in her mind screamed at her to drop the cloak, run to their designated table and try to hide behind Mei for the few hours this event would last. As if entirely aware of her thought process, the woman made half a step forwards and slightly angled her body sideways to disrupt Sakura's line of sight. Junji gently pulled the cloak from her shoulders and handed it to a nearby attendant.

“Are you proud of your heritage?” Junji whispered into her ear as they lingered in the cramped entryway, still somewhat sheltered from foreign looks.

“Of course I am,” Sakura replied a little testily, trying her best not to squirm or draw any ungainly attention to herself.

“Show them.”

Sakura breathed in, then out, and readjusted her hold on her katana. She _was_ proud. More than anything else, she prided herself on her heritage, on being part of something. Of being more than a rabid animal with captors just looking to put it down if it stepped out of line. She was more. _More_.

“That's it,” Junji murmured like a shadow as she straightened her spine and tilted her head slightly upwards. Relaxing her free hand, she let it brush against Mei's who reacted to the touch by extending a single digit and tapping it against Sakura's. And then they were off.

The music didn't stop, neither did everyone drop what they were doing just to stare. Their group still held the attention of the entire room. Sakura ignored them. She concentrated on her stride and held onto that feeling from moments ago, the knowledge that she belonged and didn't need to feel like a scorned outsider anymore. Konoha had thought little of her, considered her little more than an accident waiting to happen. Mei had taken her home. Shown her how much there was to their way of life and that Konoha was blind to it. She had something to be proud of and Sakura would rather die before letting go of it again.

Mei and Sakura kept marching on as the rest of their group split up to take their designated spaces. Konoha's festive hall was wide and spacious held in very traditional Fire style. The interior was mostly wood with numerous scrolls and banners lining the walls. Tables and seats were arranged in a half circle with an open dance floor while the musicians were nestled into a corner at the back of the room. Moments before reaching the head table, Mei and Sakura both handed their swords to Junji who accepted them with a low bow of his head. Sakura didn't enjoy the posturing but wouldn't deny that it felt nice, being publicly respected. Not too much. Just a little, enough to show these people that she held her own worth.

“Good evening Temari-sama, Konan-sama. Fellow kage.” After learning the truth about the women's identities, she wasn't surprised that Mei chose to address them first no matter how disrespectful to the other kage her action was.

“Heika,” the Desert Fury replied with a nod of her head, words and echoes soon echoed by the Titania.

“...heika?” the Senju mumbled to herself with a frown. Your Majesty. Very direct and considering Mei's heritage, definitely appropriate. Yet the word of choice was much blunter than Sakura would have expected, especially in the company of strangers.

“You look much more like yourself this evening. As does your other half.” Orange and gold moved from Mei to Sakura and this time their usual squint was... less intense. Almost as if she presented a clearer image, dressed and made up in the style of her ancestors. For a single second, Sakura looked down at her hands and couldn't quite suppress the surprise fluttering across her face. Her skin was green and teal once more, with long translucent fins swaying gently in the subtle draft, attached to the sides of her arms. They were different from Mei's, smoother and softer in comparison to the more kelp-like and coiled fins falling so close to the ground they almost trailed after her.

“I wasn't aware you knew each other,” the Hokage grumbled unhappily, eyes stuck on a bottle of sake that her assistant studiously kept out of her reach.

“We're old acquaintances,” the Suna replied as Mei and Sakura took their seats. To her mild astonishment, Hinata was nowhere near close by which, she realised, actually came as minor disappointment. She would have preferred the girl's company to just sitting in stony silence for tides knew how long.

“These are very beautiful markings.” As Mei began to converse with those around her, Sakura had resigned herself to being bored out of her mind. Until the Senju's assistant addressed her. They sat next to each other, and Sakura dimly recalled the female's nondescript face and colouring as having always been by the Hokage's side the few times she had seen the Senju. Her expression was neutral much like the rest of her appearance. Unlike the woman she worked for, she had donned festive wear; a typical Fire kimono in various shades of violet and crimson.

“Thank you,” Sakura replied politely before filling her plate with the various kinds of fish available. Her mouth watered at the sheer variety she had never expected to find on the mainland. The woman beside her observed her curiously.

“The Mizukage requested seafood with an additional plate of seaweed for one of your genin. I admit I wasn't aware Kirigakure was home to so many bloodlines. It's quite fascinating,” she commented as Sakura's eyes were drawn to Kamenoko and the plate of pickled seaweed in front of her. If she concentrated and squinted just hard enough, she could see a flash of dark green and brown covering the skin of her shoulders, if only for a moment. But wait... clenching her jaw, Sakura stared at the woman beside her. Did she...?

“There's no harm in keeping one's faith,” the female added quietly as she filled her own plate with a healthy variety of foods. Just to test her theory, Sakura reached for a bowl on the other side of the table so that the webbing of her fins would brush against the woman's hand. It twitched upon contact. Huh.

“As I said,” she replied with a small smile.

“Your markings are very beautiful.” And suddenly Sakura realised that the remark had never been about the paint but the webbing on her arms and general teal pattern on top of pale mossy skin.

“...thank you.” The woman smiled one last time before attending to the needs of her Hokage which apparently translated to keeping the alcohol away from her. Sakura focused on her meal and as she chewed, contemplated the implications of her short talk with the Senju's assistant. Mei had claimed Konoha's power and faith had died out and were currently in the process of reforming once more. Yet this was plain evidence that some of this village's inhabitants still followed some of the old practises. Unless...? She narrowed her eyes at the utter attention the woman gave her kage and how she seemed to anticipate the older one's every move before it occurred. Perhaps she was already so entwined with her that her old faith allowed her to see what was happening to this place and its leader.

Sighing quietly, Sakura ignored the noise of countless conversations happening at the same time. The food was good, a bit too strongly seasoned for her taste yet nevertheless delicious. She hadn't even noticed how hungry she was until she realised that an entire bowl of takoyaki had already disappeared in her stomach. After a while, her skin began to itch and Sakura frowned at the familiar sensation of being watched. Raising her head to take a look around, she soon found her target. Upon being spotted, the Hyuuga sent Sakura a tentative smile which she answered with a single nod. Hinata sat at a table with the rest of her year mates and was the most dressed up one by far. The subtle makeup suited her, as did the white and lavender ornaments woven into her pinned up hair.

“Tch.” Sakura blinked at the sudden sound of disapproval coming from her left. Mei's face positively radiated thinly veiled distaste and following her eyes, Sakura found herself staring at a group of Ame genin playing cards with Ren.

“I told Hamamura to keep him in check,” the older woman tutted in annoyance as she searched for the turtle girl only to find her in deep conversation with Eiichi on the edge of the dance floor.

“Are they not allowed to mingle with the others?” Sakura asked quietly and placed the tips of her fingers on top of Mei's thigh. The table hid the gesture and the effect on the woman was immediate. Her heavy frown smoothed and her mouth relaxed, no longer showing a hint of teeth.

“Our greatest duty is to honour our traditions and the ways of our ancestors. His brethren prepare to dance. He should be with them instead of pursuing personal fancies.” Sakura furrowed her brows as she recalled Mei telling her to pursue the friendship with Hinata and to 'live a little' only to now chide an orphan for something as simple as playing cards.

“I'll let him know,” she said before getting out of her chair. The festivities had only lasted for an hour at most and she already felt anxious. Just being able to walk a short distance felt like heaven. By now the dinner portion was mostly over as people moved on to drinking, talking and generally enjoying themselves. A few isolated couples had already visited the dance floor, among them the Titania and her kage. The woman's movements were clearly different from his as she moved to her own tune, listening to music only she could hear. Still, the sight had been mesmerising.

As soon as she reached the group of Ame-nin, they hushed. Ren turned around and upon spotting Sakura, scrambled off his chair to bow his head for her.

“Follow me,” she said curtly and without pausing made for the cluster of Kiri genin on the other side of the room.

“Your first priority should be your brothers and sisters, especially in foreign territory.” Despite herself, Sakura felt a faint sense of kinship with the boy. She'd been in his place, without family or name to claim, in Konoha for years. Just from looking at him she couldn't discern his heritage. His skin was pale, hair and eyes both dark. His roots could be anywhere.

“Yeah... I'm sorry. I just... wanted to be with others. Like me I guess.” Sakura bit the inside of her cheek before awkwardly placing her hand on his shoulder as she guided him along the edges of the dance floor. Ren jumped slightly at the contact yet didn't instinctively shrug her off.

“Not having a bloodline doesn't mean you don't belong. You learn. You try. In a few years, no one will know the difference.” She sighed quietly to herself before lowering her voice and adding:

“I am still learning myself. Nevertheless, I have a place. So do you.” If her efforts helped or not, Sakura didn't know but when Ren was reunited with his fellow genin, his smile seemed warm and genuine enough. Before she left, Sakura pulled Kamenoko aside and told her to pay more attention to the boy. The girl flushed and hung her head low in shame, then promised to do better. On her way back to her table, Hinata caught her attention with another smile and tentative wave. Telling herself to find some time for the Hyuuga later, she returned to her seat.

“You relate to the child,” Mei murmured as Sakura smoothed the skirt of her robe and reached for a glass of water, grateful that at least her insides didn't violently reject anything but seawater. She didn't answer, saw no need to when the statement was so obviously true. Sipping on her drink, Sakura leaned back in her chair and absent-mindedly observed the room. Their genin seemed to be having a lively discussion until one of them straight up marched towards the musicians. After a few short words were exchanged, the girl returned to her genin with a roll of her eyes. Moments later, the tune changed.

“Good choice. Aranami and Miyazaki were the best pair at their graduation ceremony,” Mei commented as Katsumi lead one of the female genin to the middle of the dance floor. Sakura remembered both of them to be confident and accomplished. While Mei had spend a few nights showing Sakura the intricacies of their traditional dancing style, she had never actually seen it performed before. Especially since after a few hours of instruction the Terumi had claimed that 'it would come back to her in time.'

A lively, darker and more intense music filled the hall as the genin faced each other with matching smirks on their painted lips. Next to her, Mei leaned back and crossed one leg over the other as her eyes sparkled in mirth. And then, they were off. Sakura had learned that each clan had their own distinctive style so it took her less than a second to understand why those two had been labelled the most accomplished dancers of their year.

They _matched_. Katsumi's movements were elegant yet undeniably aggressive as he advanced towards his partner, forceful like a coming storm. Aranami wasn't fazed in the least and weaved in and out of his range, her strikes and steps faster than his and no less vicious. Dancing in Kiri was the oldest of their traditions, their most favoured past time, a perfect combination of training and entertainment. A people forged in war and violence whose very culture was purely militaristic, would not waste their time on anything else. It was a no-contact sport, the ultimate goal to keep one's partner on their toes and getting as close as possible to touching them. Actual contact was a sign of lack of skill. Only the best could whirl across a dance floor, locked in their intense show of skill, speed, and reaction time without ever laying hands on one another.

Miyazaki and Aranami were undoubtedly skilled. Their clan styles both favoured a combination of speed and strength. Katsumi was slower, yet his moves constantly forced the girl to adjust in order not to get touched. Her advantage over the boy was her agility and the constant pressure she put on him. They were a well-functioning unit and clearly on each other's level. There was no single winner at the end of a dance, only two or none at all. Coordination and cooperation were the key to a truly memorable performance.

“Your young ones are capable,” the Titania commented with the hint of a smile on her face as her bright glowing eyes were caught on the dancing pair. Sakura agreed. Those genin owned the room and dealt incredibly well with being the centre of attention. Smirks and playful growls were reserved only for one another as they narrowly avoided crashing into each other time and time again. They didn't flail, stumble, or fall out of rhythm. Aranami and Miyazaki were fighting while making it look like they were dancing. Truly impressive.

“I can't tell if they're trying to beat each other up or if that's just flirting,” the Senju grumbled which prompted the Suna to reply:

“In Kiri, one usually accompanies the other.” Her voice was soft with a subtle trace of amusement suggesting the comment was made in good faith. Plus, it wasn't like she was _wrong_. Once the music stopped and the children ended their dance with a forearm shake, Mei hummed in contemplation.

“It has been a while since I last had a partner.” Sakura had spent a lot of time by the woman's side so she recognised the tone for one that usually heralded the arrival of something she was not going to enjoy. Mei got to her feet, then turned around and extended the palm of her hand until it stopped just inches away from Sakura's face.

“No.” The word made it past her lips without Sakura being consciously aware of it. There was no way, _no_ _way_ she would put on a performance in front of countless people especially considering she had never been taught properly. Or practised. If Mei honestly expected her to keep up with her then Sakura would have to make sure she wasn't delusional concerning other issues as well.

“Come on, Karatachi-chan. Have faith.” The woman wiggled her fingers and Sakura barely refrained from cursing at her. She hadn't thought her capable of stooping so low for the sake of a simple dance. Closing her eyes for a second to take all her irritation and shove it into a dark damp corner, Sakura reached out and accepted Mei's hand. If she did her best to crush it, the older woman didn't mention it.

“I am going to humiliate myself,” Sakura hissed furiously once they were out of hearing range and made their way to the centre of the room.

“You won't.” Mei's confidence did little to calm her nerves. If anything, it made them worse. Her palms began to sweat as she came to a stand in front of the woman, extended her arm and angled it upwards to entwine their fingers while just so avoiding actual contact. Mei gave a single nod to someone past Sakura's head and moments later, the music began anew.

It was nothing at all like the tune the genin had danced to. This one was much darker, with pulses that were almost violent, a foreboding sense of urgency and aggression echoing around the hall. Sakura swallowed nervously and stared at the brilliant sapphire around Mei's neck. She was hyper aware of every single person in this room, every soul that stared at her, all the attention and people and _what if she made a mistake_ -

“Look at me.” A single digit rested just below her chin, so close Sakura felt the chakra brush against her skin and just as it moved upwards, her head followed the movement. A barely audible gasp left her lips as she was met by pure black eyes that shimmered and glittered like perfectly polished opals. Larger than before, they were rimmed by dark blue and black paint that followed the arch of her lids, blending perfectly with the faint hint of grey scales on her face. Flecks of blue and red shone through the mismatched images of one Mei and another layered on top of each other, leaving Sakura with no clear version to focus on.

“You are half of me. You don't need to learn how to dance. You've never forgotten in the first place.” Caught in the beauty of those hints of truth beneath Mei's facade, Sakura barely realised that the older woman had begun moving. She stared and stared into those shiny dark voids, so clear she could see her own reflection within them. Her own face. Her own large dark teal eyes, her own greenish skin, her own webbed ears, the gills on each side of her neck, the elongated silk-like fins on her collarbones that fell down her back and twirled around her body with each spin Mei coaxed her into-

Between one blink and the next, the world around her had changed. Gone was their audience, gone was the smell of food and alcohol, gone were the wood and banners. The floor beneath Sakura's feet was cool and dark blue smooth stone with threads of gold etched into the ground. Tall spires rose into the sky all around her as a harsh wind blew pink strands into her face and the smell of the sea entered her nose. Sakura heard the roiling of waves and as she stared upwards was met by two moons, one full, the other crescent. They lit up the dark night sky and shone down on Mei and Sakura as they whirled across the platform, never touching yet so close that only a sheet of paper would fit between them.

With the older woman leading her, Sakura closed her eyes and reached for her aura, attached herself to the mixture of ocean and lava and surrendered to it. This was their moment in their private world and if Sakura felt herself slip further and further away from what she knew and towards something else (old, so _old_ , _ancient_ ) she opened her arms to embrace it.

“They are close. Closer than expected.” Junji raised a singular brow at the words coming from the moving shadows to his left. After his stunt with the Hatake's clan contract, he knew it had been only a matter of time before the man would seek him out. Mutual spite and resentment was what brought them together after all.

“You seem close to her as well.” He couldn't help frown at the silver-haired shinobi. Junji recognised jealousy or possessiveness when he saw it and this was not it. Neither was it concern for his former student and target of his ire.

“You watched them dance, saw the way they move together,” he said, eyes on the retreating backs of a Terumi and a Karatachi. His throat was still dry, eyes a little watery due to lack of blinking. He hadn't been able to look away, much like everyone else in the room. Even those who couldn't see the ethereal beauty of those women had been ensnared by their dance. He'd heard stories, true, but to witness it with his own eyes? There were no words to describe the experience.

“And yet you worry about me.” The mutt seemed momentarily confused before frowning in thought. He didn't understand. Never would. And wasn't that just such a shame.

“She is her mentor, is she not?” Junji felt the urge to snort but held it back, asking himself how anyone could be witness to the Dance of the Twin Moons and still be so very blind.

“She is much, _much_ more than that,” he answered quietly, images of their performance still fresh in his mind.

“The Hyuuga heir's attention didn't seem to bother your kage much,” the Hatake pointed out and this time Junji wasn't able to suppress the chuckle.

“Only a fool would think that anyone could ever come in between them.” And wasn't that just true. There had been signs but Junji had dismissed them in the beginning. Misinterpreted them to be symptoms of the bonding between a Terumi and a Karatachi. Yet as time went on and they kept aligning themselves toward each other rather than facing the same direction, the fog began to lift as memories of the most ancient of tales resurfaced.

“Oh? Hinata-san is an accomplished kunoichi. Headstrong, once she sets her mind on something. I wouldn't dismiss her so easily.” He chuckled again.

“You don't understand,” he replied because how could he? Konoha born and bred that he was, stemming from a land so without colour and mysticism that he wouldn't be able to see even if it hit him right in the face.

“They are more than you and I, more than our village, more than yours,” he said, gaze zeroing in on the the two females, senses tingling with the perfect harmony of their chakra signatures.

“Only a force capable of bringing the ocean to its knees could shatter the timeless union between a queen and her oracle.”

“That's a bad idea, Hina-chan.” Hinata swallowed nervously and released a shaky breath. She'd been lingering all night, watching and observing, waiting for an opportunity. It was now or never. Now or never. She made one step forwards, then faltered.

“Seriously, whatever they've got going on is clearly an exclusive kind of deal. Plus, Sakura's insane. She didn't even apologise to Ino!” Hinata loved Naruto-kun with all her heart but sometimes, she thought, the boy could be rather silly. She didn't want to be part of the close relationship Sakura-san had with her kage. She didn't even want to come in between them. All Hinata was interested in was spending some time with the pink-haired Kiri shinobi. Everyone she knew kept telling her to back off and that her crush would soon fade. They didn't understand that Hinata wasn't interested in her that way. She loved Naruto-kun! That fact was common knowledge.

“As much as I don't want to say it out loud, but Naruto is right. She's not even into you Hina and I know that sucks, but-” She had enough. Hinata clenched her fists and walked away from her team and friends. They were ridiculous. Wanting to spend time with someone didn't automatically equate having a crush! If anyone knew what having a crush was like, it was Hinata who had been in love with Naruto-kun ever since they were children.

Sakura-san was just so... strong. And self-confident. Of course she was rude, standoffish and antisocial but Hinata knew she probably had her reasons. What ninja wasn't affected by their profession? While she could admit that she was a little uneasy about the violence Sakura-san and the other Kiri-nin employed, they were simply doing their jobs. And no matter what Kiba said, she wasn't _ugly_. If anything, especially tonight, she looked stunning in her cultural clothing and makeup. And those markings that ran down her arms and shoulders! Hinata had never known Kiri had an actual culture that was so different from theirs.

Yet what she was most curious about, more than anything else, was their dancing. As Hyuuga she had often been told that she looked more like a dancer than a fighter and the fluid movements so incredibly shy of connecting, truly reminded her of her clan's fighting style. Plus, Hinata _enjoyed_ dancing even though she didn't have much time for it. Sakura-san had visibly warmed up to her so perhaps if she asked politely, she would show her.

That was the big idea anyway. Now that she had successfully left the safety of her friends and was approaching Sakura-san's seat at the head table, her resolve began to waver. What if she was too forward? What if asking them to share part of their traditions was a grave insult? What if she said _no_?

Hinata whimpered at the mental image of being publicly turned down in front of everyone and was just about to turn around, when-

“Hinata-san.” She didn't squeak. Absolutely not. How had her feet carried her to her destination without her realising it? Noticing that she was being stared at by the collective kage and their companions, she felt all blood leave her body and flush her face in a glowing scarlet. Sakura-san hadn't sat down yet and was patiently waiting for Hinata to speak up. She gulped audibly and wrung her hands as she opened her mouth.

“I-I w-wondered if you... if you'd...” Anger flooded her veins and she cursed herself for being such a mess. She was humiliating herself even before she would get inevitably turned down.

“I believe this one wishes to ask for a dance. I watched her. She seemed quite taken with your performance.” Hinata's face assumed an even deeper shade of red following the words of the Amekage's companion, Konan-san, as she'd been introduced. Considering the pink-haired shinobi didn't immediately shake her head, Hinata gathered her courage once more.

“I- I wish to learn. If... if you'd... show me.” Silence. Hinata feared she might burst into flames from the way her insides were burning hot with shame and anxiety.

“Alright.” What? Hinata blinked twice in quick succession just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Sakura-san walked around the table until she came to a stand in front of her, hand outstretched in a clear offer. She couldn't believe her luck. Her entire arm shook as she placed her palm into Sakura-san's and bit the inside of her cheek to make sure she didn't faint. Her skin was unexpectedly cool and soft.

“Every clan dances differently. Mine and Mei-sama's were created together so I will try to show you the basics,” the girl explained neutrally and with no hint of her usual irritation in her voice. Hinata marvelled at how different she suddenly was, both in looks and general behaviour. She seemed... calmer. Less stressed and a lot more casual. Hours ago when the Kiri delegation had joined the festivities, Sakura-san had behaved the way Hinata had expected. Not anymore.

“The most important rule is to avoid contact. Think of it as a combination of sparring and dancing. You are aggressive and try to get close like you would in a fight, but you work and move together like you would during a dance.” Hinata nodded quickly and did her best to copy Sakura-san's stance. It was different from the one she had used at the start of her performance with her kage. Instead of entwining their fingers, their flat palms met in the air.

“It's a constant flow of movement with no leader or follower. It takes a lot of practise to attain the necessary reaction time and agility to make it work.” Hinata gulped. She had seen evidence of that. The way Sakura-san and the Mizukage had whirled across the dance floor, at times so close they almost kissed and yet never once truly touching each other? Never would she have expected the girl to possess such incredible grace. It simply didn't... fit her.

The first attempt was over before it had begun. Hinata's hand twitched and made contact with Sakura-san's cool digits. The second attempt ended after a second when she failed to pull back in time. Biting her lip, she furrowed her brows and concentrated. The third try was foiled by Hinata's own uncoordinated attempt to engage.

“You're thinking. Stop.” The words were curt and clipped enough to almost make her smile. That was much more like her. Steeling herself, Hinata once again assumed the opening stance and cleared her mind to the best of her ability just the way Kurenai-sensei had taught her years ago. Two seconds later Sakura-san's hand brushed the waistband of her kimono. This would be so much easier if she was dressed in training garb, Hinata thought dejectedly before remembering that the girl in front of her was clad in much less practical clothing than her own.

“You're too passive. Without the necessary force and violence, it doesn't work.” And therein laid the crux of the matter. Hinata had always been too passive, too shy to truly take the initiative. In an open combat situation with actual threat of harm she could enter a more aggressive mindset easily. But here? Now? In this situation, when her partner was Sakura-san?

“Don't worry about hurting me. You can't.” Hinata's first instinct was to duck and agree with her, yet for some reason or another, it was the second she listened to. Indignation. Perhaps Sakura-san outranked her by far, and yes she was a more skilled fighter than Hinata by far. None of that meant she could belittle her like Neji had done, like her father still did-

Shaking her head, Hinata readied herself and clenched her jaw. She'd spent years thinking of herself as worthless and no matter how much she liked Sakura-san, there was no need for the girl to look down on her.

She lasted six seconds.

“Better,” the pink-haired Kiri-nin spoke before immediately coming at Hinata again. Eventually she lost count of how many times they had to start over. She only cared about the fact that each attempt lasted longer than the last. Sakura-san liked to strike hard and precise, moved her feet in complete harmony with her body. Here and there Hinata spotted traces of what she'd seen earlier and her face warmed. She really made an effort not to fall back into her clan style and corrected herself each time she did. The thoughtfulness of it made Hinata want to smile.

“You're good.” Her face burst into flames at the unexpected comment and she stammered a few words of gratitude. The banquet was almost over and a few isolated groups had already left yet Sakura-san still had no intentions to stop. Remembering her earlier visible restlessness, Hinata figured that a little exercise might be just what the Kiri-nin needed. They were just about to start over, when suddenly:

“Ren!” Her head snapped to the left just in time to see one of the female Kiri genin rush to her team mate and grab his arms before he could fall. His face was white and covered in beads of sweat as he began to shake and convulse-

“REN!” The boy's eyes rolled back into his head and his body crumbled to the floor, utterly still and bereft of life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to take a 2 week hiatus from this project to focus on the ever-growing amount of WIPs I have in my fic folder. I'd like to get at least 5 or 6 of them done before I return to this so these unfinished works can stop bothering me.
> 
> But after that, I'll return to my usual schedule. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! (It's extra long!)


	15. Act II: Part VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And it begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS FIC IS NOT ABANDONED! 
> 
> I announced a 2 week break that turned into 2 months due to the crippling burnout I gave myself. In the last 2 days I have re-read the fic and rekindled my passion for it. I can NOT return to my old once a week schedule because that is no longer sustainable. Updates will be slower but I should manage a chapter at least once a month.  
> To everyone that waited, I am grateful. Those who left, I can understand. And those who are new, I hope you will continue to enjoy.
> 
> On another note, I wrote and released New Konoha's oneshot a while ago. It goes beyond the time frame of Depths and features some minor foreshadowing. Still, check it out. :>
> 
> Now, to those poor souls that commented and I kept waiting I'm sorry. Just once I will answer down below instead of in my A/N's.
> 
> And now that that's all over and done with, enjoy.

“Don't you _dare_ touch him!” Hinata gasped quietly at the sudden wave of malice emanating from the girl to her left. Her teeth were bared and sharp, eyes so dark they bordered on pure black. Hinata's breath stuttered as she moved a hand to her throat, trying to stave off the looming sensation of drowning. The Hokage's head snapped around, hands reaching for the young Kiri genin.

“Don't be ridiculous, do you want him to die?” the blonde demanded in a low growl which was immediately overshadowed by the vibrating rumble in Sakura's throat. She stalked closer, hands on either side of her body, and curled into open fists.

“He was poisoned! It's a miracle the boy is still among the living,” the Hokage insisted. A faint hiss reached Hinata's ears and her eyes went wide upon realising that the sound did indeed come from the pink-haired shinobi. She'd never heard her make such a sound before, one that Hinata was willing to bet wasn't entirely human. She stood frozen, helpless in the face of the fury originating from a girl she'd just danced with mere seconds ago.

“We are not responsible for this,” the Kazekage's sister proclaimed from where she stood with her body utterly relaxed as if she wasn't at all affected by Sakura's suffocating aura.

“I know.” Shivers raced down Hinata's spine. Painfully slowly her head turned to the side until her eyes met the statuesque form of the Mizukage. She was still as if carved from marble and the sight caused Hinata's throat to dry. Her mind screamed at her how unnatural the woman was in this moment and how she should flee before it was too late while her body refused to move, transfixed and caught in those pure obsidian eyes.

“My medic will see to him. Your practises are more likely to kill rather than help him,” the woman continued, quiet and calm in the most terrifying of ways. Hinata gulped audibly and took a single step backwards. Within a single second, one of the masked Kiri ANBU appeared out of nowhere, minty glowing hands on either side of the boy's throat.

“You sound an awful lot like you're accusing us.” Hinata breathed and stilled, doing her best to appear unassuming, not wanting to be caught between the Mizukage and the Hokage, both of which showed their teeth and glared at each other, moments away from resorting to violence.

“Our dishes are restricted to our designated tables. Only foreign interference could have ensured our poisonous spices ended up on the wrong plate.” Hinata couldn't quite grasp how the Kazekage's sister could remain so calm and a quiet voice at the back of her mind pointed out that it was her who was talking, always her, never her brother. At the same time Hinata's eyes fluttered to the Ame leaders and how the kage remained silent, ever so slightly in the shadow of his female companion. An intense feeling of wrongness brushed against her subconsciousness, causing her to shiver.

“Suna and Ame know better than to interfere with my realm and my people. Our young ones die on your land, Senju and you have forced us to come here in the first place.” Hinata's eyes widened. Gone were the mind games, the subtle digs, the thinly veiled hints and threats. The Mizukage had stopped beating around the bush and resorted to the kind of bluntness that caused wars.

“How dare you-” the Hokage began, only to be interrupted by a hiss.

“If this child dies, I will drown your village-” What could have very well escalated into full-blown violence was brought to a sudden halt by the ANBU medic growling under her breath, healing chakra flickering and dying out.

“There's nothing I can do.” Hinata covered her mouth with her hand, eyes stuck on the boy who was no longer breathing, looked as still and pallid as any corpse.

“You-”

“Swallow your damn pride Terumi and let me save that boy's life!” This time when Tsunade-sama attempted to reach for the genin, it was Sakura-san who stepped in front of him. The feeling of suffocating and drowning returned full force and Hinata had to close her eyes while desperately focusing on her breathing, reminding herself that she was above water and surrounded by air-

“Get the hell out of my way, brat-”

“Don't you dare-”

“Tsunade-sama!” Hinata gasped quietly as her vision refocused and the overwhelming sense of being dragged under the surface of the ocean faded from one moment to the next. Shizune was there, right next to the Hokage, one hand casually resting on the older woman's arm. The standoff between the blonde, the Mizukage and Sakura-san was brought to a sudden halt. Hinata focused on the latter, watched the way her eyes were stuck on Shizune, how she visibly debated something.

“You. Help him.” It was no order, far from it, but the quiet urgency, such a stark contrast to Sakura-san's earlier fury, was almost jarring to Hinata's ears. Shizune, oddly enough, wasted no time at all. Crouching low and going to her knees, the medic-nin bowed over the boy's still body, hands roaming his body before forcing his mouth open.

“I need two bowls of water,” she declared and Sakura-san immediately abandoned her standoffish posture, ignoring the silently fuming Hokage in favour of collecting two empty salad bowls from the closest table, offering them to the ANBU medic who filled them with water. While Shizune got to work, forcing the water into the boy's body, Sakura-san and the ANBU restrained him as he began thrashing and screaming and _thank the heavens he was still alive._

“When this is over, we're going to have to talk,” Tsunade-sama ground out between her teeth, still engaged in a silent battle of wills with the deceptively calm facade of the Mizukage. In comparison to Sakura-san her aura was fully restrained but Hinata's eyes caught the way the air around her was ever so slightly distorted. She wondered if she would burn herself, were she to touch the woman.

“When this is over, we're going home.”

“Hinata. Come over here.” Tearing her eyes off the two kage, Hinata obeyed Shizune and approached her, joining her on the floor.

“I got rid of most of the poison. Check if there's anything left.” Nodding once, Hinata activated her byakugan and carefully inspected the boy from head to toe, finding not a single trace of the dark void that was the poison Shizune had dumped in one of the two bowls.

“There's nothing,” she murmured quietly and on the edge of her vision spotted the way Sakura-san's fingers relaxed ever so slightly, revealing the dark bruises she had left behind on the genin's arm and shoulder.

“He needs rest. It would be best to withdraw him from the exams but he should partially recover within two or three days,” Shizune spoke quietly, meeting Sakura-san's eyes that, Hinata just now noticed, had changed to a solid black, an exact copy of the Mizukage's. She knew nothing of their bloodlines or their elaborate culture she'd never even heard of. But what Hinata did know, without a doubt, was what happened the last time the Kiri jounin's eyes had changed colour. The girl didn't move or speak for several seconds before releasing a shallow sigh and nodding.

“...thank you,” she murmured, then shaped the fingers of her right hand into a single sign that had the ANBU medic gather the boy in her arms before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Hinata stayed on the floor even as Shizune got to her feet. She didn't dare come any closer or even touch the Kiri-nin. Still...

“Are you okay?” she asked tentatively, and couldn't suppress the shiver that ran down her spine when Sakura-san's eyes slowly moved to her, holding her gaze, face carefully blank, violent aura restrained until not a single hint of her earlier fury remained. Hinata received no answer, nothing more than that eerie silent stare. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, realisation dawned and from one moment to another she knew, that she was being looked at, assessed as if she were a potential enemy.

“Karatachi-chan.” Faster than Hinata's eyes could process, the Kiri-nin had gotten off the floor and moved next to the Mizukage whose painted fingernails rested on her bare shoulder.

“Head back. You and Yuki guard the children. Don't wait for me.” It spoke volumes that Sakura-san didn't protest, merely nodded once, brushed her fingers against the kage's wrist, then without another word turned around and disappeared, leaving behind only three ANBU to keep watch. The woman herself seemed calm and collected but Hinata had heard her voice, felt everything she didn't say, remembered the violence Kiri-nin breathed like air, and shivered.

“Very well, Senju. Let's _talk_ ,” the kage spoke, looking down on Tsunade-sama who was two heads shorter than her but refused to be intimidated.

“Terumi,” the woman growled and Hinata, who looked from one to the other as she stood in the middle of the room, overcome by worry and a nigh overwhelming feeling of dread, desperately hoping that this wasn't just the beginning of something so much worse.

“ _... something is wrong with me. Sometimes I...”_

“ _Don't feel like myself?”_

“ _...yes.”_

“ _It will pass. Eventually.”_

“ _Was it the same for you?”_

“ _...no. I've always known.”_

“ _Known what?”_

“ _Who I am.”_

“Sakura. Sakura!” She flinched violently as her head whipped around. The last remnants of darkness had faded and her eyes, when they met Junji's, were a bright jade once more. Dimly, Sakura became aware of the hand on her shoulder and the way her own fingers were tense and had begun to cramp. She blinked twice and looked around, saw the children clustered around Ren who rested on his bed, the chuunin and jounin that sat on various chairs and furniture, guarding the door and windows. She herself stood on the other side of the room, back to the wall, all eyes on her.

“I'm fine,” she replied and batted his hand away, feeling itchy and agitated and all sorts of wrong but there was nothing she could do about it because Mei wasn't here-

 _'Settle down, young one.'_ Sakura showed no outward reaction to Isobu yet some of her inner unrest soothed and dissipated.

 _'The children are safe. Meditate.'_ Meditate? How was she supposed to attain the necessary peace of mind for successful meditation when she wanted to jump out of her skin, scratch it until she bled, do anything to try and alleviate the pressure that was weighing her down-

 _'You're inching closer and closer to the edge of your cliff but this is neither the time or the place. You need her more than ever. In her absence, listen to me. Focus on my voice. Sit down, regulate your breathing, and commune with me.'_ Fine. Sakura grunted and unceremoniously let her body sink to the floor, not minding her dress or the paint on her legs that had already smudged. Sitting cross-legged, Sakura folded her arms in her lap and closed her eyes. She was a mess from start to finish and forcing her body to still cost all of her concentration.

 _'Think of what calms your mind. Remember the sound of waves crashing against the shore, think of rain so thick you can barely see past it, smell the salt in the air and feel the cold against your bare skin.'_ Sakura did as he asked and even though her left leg kept shaking and her right hand curled around nothingness, after a few tries she began to slip in the image she created. The hushed whispers of their genin slowly faded away as did the almost oppressive warmth of their accommodations. One by one the signatures of those around her turned to little more than drops of rain that fell from a dark grey sky and soaked her hair.

 _'Now imagine thunder, harsh winds, the kind of storm that fills the air with electricity. Take your restlessness and pour it into the ocean, watch as the waves rise higher and higher until the ground shakes and crumbles beneath your feet.'_ Sakura did as the turtle told her to, listened to his disembodied voice that came from within her own head. Gradually, the intensity of the weather increased until her hair whipped around her head and she had to close her eyes to protect them from the harsh rain. The sea too grew restless, water pushed in all directions by the wind, giant waves rising and falling, crashing into each other, loud enough to almost deafen her. Flashes of light lit up the now black sky, followed by the rumble and clap of thunder. And Sakura stood in the middle of it all, no longer on solid ground, but instead on water, a narrow spot that was spared from the onslaught of the storm.

 _'What you see, what you feel... all of it belongs to you. It is your self and your power, the untempered heart of the ocean.'_ Sakura focused on her breathing, let the energy flood her body, then exit it once more, turning herself into a conduit for her own wildness. The experience was cathartic, in a way. She spent so much, too much, time keeping herself contained. While she found peace, true peace, with Mei by her side, a part of Sakura couldn't help but long for what she used to be so deathly terrified of. Back when every day had been a struggle for control, she had woken up stressed and gone to bed even more strained. Every single second she had spent fighting with herself. Yet lately...

Lately, things had begun to change.

 _'You are growing into yourself. The more you remember what you used to be, the less you fear everything you_ could _be.'_ Sakura looked down at her arms and this time didn't even flinch when she was met by the soft teal hue. Gently moving one finger over the webbing some of the pressure in her chest waned. The texture was soft and cool, sensitive to the touch, and had an almost feathery feel to it. Following the pattern, Sakura carefully brushed over those wispy fins that fluttered in the wind. They reminded her of a mixture of silk and chiffon, incredibly durable yet transparent and as straight as her own hair.

“What am I?” she asked nobody in particular. She hadn't seen her own face before, not the way it was _meant_ to look like, and while Sakura had met descendants of turtles, sharks, and even seals, she had gazed upon Mei countless times and what little she had seen had failed to solve the mystery surrounding the woman's heritage.

 _'Terumi and you are the only remains of a caste that mixed with the higher beings under the sea. The judges and generals of your people, the queens and the oracles. You had no name when you were born but your heritage made you eligible to be chosen as the voice of the sea.'_ Sakura inspected her hand, studied the sharp claws were once there used to be nails, the pale green webbing between her fingers, the barely visible layer of scales that ran along the length of her bones, little more than a thin line that shimmered whenever another flash of lightning lit up the surrounding darkness.

“How do you know all this? Did... did Yagura tell you?” Isobu chuckled as Sakura moved her hands over her body, felt muscle and shapes that were still the same, hadn't changed, and relished in the chilly temperature of her skin, listened to her slightly slowed down heartbeat, felt the calm inside, a perfect contrast to the storm raging on the outside.

 _'Yagura was one of the hosts I was closest to, but no. He grew up with the history of his people yet you... are fundamentally different from him in the only way that truly matters.'_ Sakura stopped and frowned, looking at nothing in particular.

“What do you mean?” Isobu didn't reply for a while but Sakura felt him right at the forefront of her mind, watching and waiting.

 _'His blood ran strong. Yours runs stronger.'_ Not the answer she had hoped for yet right here, right now, Sakura found it hard to care. Not when her head was empty and void, her body without all the stress and pent-up energy she carried around with her during all hours of the day. Not when she was in the vortex of everything that made her. Isobu and her remained in silence, both looking through her eyes, feeling the air on her bare skin, the wetness of the water spray that drenched her dress, nigh endless strands of pink hair whirling around her head.

“I don't worry anymore,” Sakura eventually said, quiet, with no emotion at all. She kept staring at the ocean, weightless as if she were floating.

“I used to have so many questions. What is happening to me, will I be fine, will Mei keep me in check, where am I going to be in ten years.” The last one in particular had caused more than just one restless night. For years she had lived day after day, never thinking about the future for she was never quite sure she even had one.

“Now there's... eternal powers, mystical beings, ascension and divinity, and I'm right in the middle of it, part of... something I can't understand, something I am not allowed to know just yet.” A giant wave towered above her and when it came crashing down, split in the middle so it just barely missed her on either side. As the spray hit her face, she felt a lingering sense of energy in the droplets, a string that was still tethered to the remains of the wave. She still felt them long after they had merged with the rest of the sea.

“I have fewer answers than before.” Sakura crouched down and dipped her left hand beneath the surface, allowed the water to part her fingers, felt it push against her elongated claws. She closed her eyes and reached for the current, intimately aware of the countless microscopic threads of something she couldn't name but still resonated with on a level so deep, so inherently tied to her very soul.

Expanding her consciousness, Sakura followed the threads that lit up when she passed through them, sending pulses and sparks through the giant net that was larger, reached farther than her senses could comprehend. The next time she opened her eyes she could see them, countless barely visible lines that covered every square and inch of the sea.

“I have no idea what I am. I have no idea what I look like. And I have no idea what my future holds.” Sakura withdrew her hand and while the net lost much of its glow, if Sakura squinted just so, she could still see it.

“I don't know how it happened,” she mused and tilted her head upwards, allowing the rain to fall straight into her eyes. Even though she was inside her own mind, she still expected it to itch, to trigger her allergies. It didn't.

“But I don't think I need those answers anymore.” The sky lit up as yet another flash of lightning burst through the clouds, crashing into the ocean somewhere far away from her. The clouds shifted and changed, at the mercy of the storm.

“Because I have faith instead.” All at once, the world fell silent. Waves collapsed as the wind disappeared into nothingness, the surface of the sea evened out, clouds dispersed and the rainfall abated. Sakura still stared at the sky that gradually changed from black to blue as the sun came out and the ocean began to sparkle like an image straight out of a fairytale.

 _'What do you believe in?'_ Isobu asked. A small smile slid on Sakura's face. She breathed easier now even though the wildness had returned back to where it had come from, had seeped through her skin to once more pulse through her body, thrum in her veins, echo in her soul.

“Mei. The sea.” She paused briefly, held her hands in front of her eyes and was met by rich teal, faint green, transparent wisps that reflected the sunlight in countless shades of blue and green.

“Myself.” She dropped her hands and looked at the surface, focused until she spotted the faint outline of the net. Sakura closed her eyes and felt for the threads, reached and wrapped her fingers around them, and pulled.

A rush of water broke the silence and when she looked through clear black voids, was met by a giant spire made entirely of water that towered above her, reached so high it blot out the sun, throwing a massive shadow and shrouding Sakura in darkness. Her hands hadn't moved, remained still and she observed the net that had expanded, twisted and changed shape until it was wrapped around the spire.

“I can do this,” Sakura spoke before concentrating once more, gently reaching for the net, tugging at strings, rearranging them at will as the spire changed into whatever shape she envisioned.

“I can do countless things that I thought to be impossible.” She split the water mass in two, then three, then four until she had broken it into so many fragments she couldn't keep count, yet was still capable of manipulating them all the same.

“Because if there _are_ eternal powers, if there _are_ mystical beings and if I _am_ in the middle of old myths, tales of ascension and divinity, catching a glimpse of what lies on the other side...” Sakura blinked once, and all the various formations of water surrounding her collapsed, threads dissolved, lines shrinking until the net had once more assumed its original shape that rested just beneath the surface like a blanket.

“Why should I believe that I am not part of it myself?” She thought of magenta suns, voices in her head, disjointed memories and Mei's whispers in the dead of the night when she thought Sakura couldn't hear her. Murmurs, promises, prayers, and above all trust, affection, longing. Sakura was falling, surrounded by a web of mysteries, with no certainty that anyone or anything would break her fall, but plenty of faith that it would happen regardless.

 _'Why should you indeed.'_ Isobu's rumble vibrated in her chest and Sakura realised that this was the first time since she had met him, that his echo was without agitation, without stress, without anything at all.

“I am Mei's other half just like she is mine. She is the mind and I am the heart. And together, we are the sea herself.” Somewhere in the depths of Sakura's awareness, something shifted and fell in place. With her eyes wide open, no longer the jade she had known for over a decade but a shimmering black expanse, she once more looked at the sky and, with peace in her head and lightness in her chest, let herself fall backwards.

She broke through the surface with a splash and allowed the ocean to drag her down, enter her body and weigh her down, take everything she was and reclaim it for herself. Bit by bit Sakura came undone, bone, flesh and muscle turned to water, became part of a greater whole. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a massive shadow shift beneath the waves and a mere moment before the shadows pulled her under, caught a single flash of two heads and four giant black eyes that looked just like her own.

“ _Do you think one day the cycle will just... stop?”_

“ _It is our responsibility to make sure it doesn't. You know this.”_

“ _But what if we fail? What if_ I _fail?”_

“ _You won't. You never will.”_

“ _...how can you be so sure?”_

_“Because I believe in you.”_

“How are you feeling?” Sakura whispered the words under her breath, so quiet that the ambient noise almost completely swallowed them. She had watched the boy ever since he had woken up hours prior. His skin was as white as a sheet, his eyes tired and dark, his hair limp. Every single movement seemed to be an enormous struggle and not for the first time, Sakura genuinely considered knocking him out before yelling at Mei until the woman ordered them to pack their things and return home.

It had taken hours for Mei to return to their accommodations on the evening of the attack on Ren's life. Sakura had eventually been pulled from her meditation. She couldn't remember much beyond a few fragments of a conversation between Isobu and her but the calm and serenity she had felt had spoken for itself. She certainly felt a lot more balanced ever since.

Still, the announcement that they were not going to immediately return home, had genuinely tested Sakura's patience. She had waited until the others had retired before following Mei into her room and demanding an answer as to why they were still staying. Sakura who should have gotten used to not getting anything out of the woman when the latter wasn't inclined to share her wisdom, still managed to be surprised and downright pissed when her demands weren't met. She had stormed off then, shut herself in her room and told Isobu to shut off his sensors. The last thing she needed was a constant reminder of the infuriating female she'd been saddled with.

She had avoided her the next day which was quite easy considering she was under house arrest and had zero desire to spend even a single second in the company of the Hyuuga. At least the girl hadn't tried to come see her which was a blessing, honestly. Sakura wouldn't have trusted herself to remain calm.

Instead, she had spent every waking moment in the common room either meditating, giving the genin a few pointers here and there whenever they returned from their training sessions, all the while keeping an eye on Ren at all times. Two days had gone by with no reaction. Then, five hours before the first exam, he had opened his eyes.

And now, they were here. In front of the academy where the first portion of the chuunin exams was about to take place. The boy looked more like a corpse than anything else and while the medic had cleared him, Sakura had very strong opinions she kept to herself since she didn't exactly fancy talking to Mei. It put a strain on her body and mind, the distance she created, and if she curled up against the wall at night to get closer to her presence, then that was her secret to keep.

“I- I'm alright, Karatachi-sama,” Ren replied. Sakura frowned at the waver in his voice but let him be. It was his decision and, failing everything else, he did right by his team. Casting a quick glance at the turtle girl, Sakura was pleased to find her eyes on the boy already. She would watch over him. The first test would prove to be the biggest hurdle for their teams. Junji had given her a basic overview of this year's tasks and while the second and third portion very much played to Kiri's strengths, the first... not so much.

Valuing combat and military strength above all else, Kiri genin teams spent the first two years on little more than refining their combat strength. Specialisations and supplementary training came afterward. These genin had just begun testing for various special designations and none of them had been vetted for intel acquisition or work in the intelligence department. All of them were fighters which was the main reason they had been chosen to participate in foreign exams in the first place.

Konoha, as it turned out, wasn't very creative with their exams and Sakura found herself reminded of her own. While the first task was centered around acquiring a riddle through interrogation and, to a lesser extent, torture, the second task would take place in the forest where the genin were meant to follow up on the riddle, solve it, then head for their designated spot on the map where they would face two other teams. Whichever team would gain control over the area and acquire a small wooden statuette that was hidden somewhere nearby, would advance to the final round.

All in all, a favourable set of tests once the first hurdle was cleared. The genin had already been briefed by their jounin sensei who hadn't shared the details concerning the exam, and simply told them to remember that they were not in Kirigakure. What was considered acceptable levels of physical violence during interrogation, especially in a testing environment, greatly varied between villages.

Soon enough the doors opened and the genin streamed inside the building, followed by jounin sensei and kage. Sakura stuck close to Junji who gave Mei's back a meaningful glance. Sakura ignored him as they filtered into the observation room where various large screens were attached to a wall, hooked up and running, currently showing three empty rooms with only a single Konoha chuunin being tied to a metal chair, one in each room.

Sakura didn't pay much attention to the foreign teams. With both the Suna and Ame avatars in such close proximity, she was intimately aware of the sheer power they radiated, the almost blinding intensity of the glittering webs of energy that clung to their skin. It felt like a constant itch that had Sakura shift from side to side. Junji, on the other hand, remained perfectly still. Whether the reason for that was that he wasn't as affected or if he merely had less trouble hiding his discomfort, Sakura didn't know.

After three rounds the first of their genin teams entered the room on the left. Eiichi, followed by a still sickly looking Ren, with Kamenoko bringing up the rear. Theirs was perhaps Kiri's most balanced genin cell. The turtle girl was a strong frontline combatant with naturally high endurance and strength. Her weakness were her elemental jutsu which Eiichi practially specialised in. And Ren, having no clan style or traditions to predetermine which way he would go, was a natural all-rounder.

“One hundred ryo that the orphan is going to break the guy,” Junji murmured quietly with a sideways glance at Sakura. She squinted at the screen, took in the subtle sway in Ren's every movement and the steel in Kamenoko's eyes.

“A hundred on the girl,” she replied and gave Junji the stink-eye when he smirked at her. She was just about to focus on the screen when, in front of her, Mei ever so slightly tilted her head to the side and murmured:

“Unagi. Two hundred.” Sakura's breath hitched at the sound of Mei's voice and she couldn't quite suppress the way her fingers twitched, just about to reach out. Mei didn't notice. Junji did.

“Two hundred it is,” Junji replied, followed by a non-committal grunt from Sakura. She didn't trust herself to speak up. The genin started easy. Ren stayed back and allowed the other two to take the lead. They questioned the man first who, as predicted, refused to give in. After a minute, the turtle girl pulled a kunai from her satchel and got to work.

“Vicious little turtle,” Junji commented in approval and despite herself, Sakura's lips quirked upwards as she watched the usually shy girl show no mercy or hesitation. She didn't go too far, adhered to the rules and boundaries her jounin sensei had set, but the way she undeniably enjoyed herself pleased Sakura in a way she couldn't explain. It took barely any time at all until beads of sweat ran down the chuunin's face and even though Sakura had never been involved in torture herself, she knew the signs of a man reaching his breaking point.

“Pay up.” Sakura frowned at the back of Mei's head, momentarily ignoring her issues with the older woman in favour of protesting when her attention returned to the screen. Kamenoko had retreated, leaving Eiichi to do his part. Three seals later, the chuunin was drenched from head to toe. Then, the boy formed one last hand seal and pressed his flat palm on the man's chest. Even though the audio was muffled and quiet, everyone in the room heard the screams. Sakura pressed her lips to a thin line as she watched the chuunin's body jerk and thrash violently, weak and helpless in the face of the boy's combined suiton and raiton jutsu.

“His entire clan specialises in torture. Him being assigned to a combat team is an exception, not the rule,” Junji explained, voice low enough so only Sakura could understand. Unagi Eiichi of the Denki Unagi. Sakura grumbled a vicious curse because _of course_. She really should have known better. But...

“If you know that, why didn't you bet on him first?” she asked Junji while squinting at him. Between one moment and the next, his image shifted and she caught a hint of grey and steel blue on his face. When she blinked, it was gone.

“Do you have any money on you?” he retorted and the fake innocence combined with that very particular smile bode ill for Sakura. She reached inside her shawl, fully expecting to be met by a small pouch of coins only to come up empty.

“Oh, you utter bas-”

“Tachi-chan.” Sakura froze, slowly moving her head to the side until she stared right into Mei's black eyes which had yet to return to the green she was so used to. At this point, Sakura wasn't sure they ever would.

“My money.” She was dimly aware that their team had passed, a medic was taking care of the chuunin they had temporarily ruined, and that life was moving on.

“Don't have any,” Sakura mumbled and crossed her arms in front of her chest, refusing to even look at the woman. Junji was a manipulative ass and she refused to have any part in his games. No matter how good his intentions probably were.

“Hmmm... you'll just have to repay me in a different way then.” From the corner of her eye, Sakura caught the Hokage shooting them a single eyebrow-raised glance. Despite her lack of interest in those kinds of activities, Sakura knew exactly what Mei's reply must have sounded like to an outsider. Junji's snickering didn't help much.

“Just take it out of my pay,” she growled and expected that to be the end of it. Instead, she heard Mei sigh just before the older woman moved two fingers through Sakura's hair, caught an errant strand that had escaped her braid, and tucked it behind her ear.

“We're going to have dinner tonight. Just the two of us. No arguments.” Sakura almost missed the hushed whisper but, no matter how quiet, the words wormed themselves past her defenses. She didn't know what it was. The intonation, the lingering touch, or perhaps the gentleness in Mei's face. Whatever the reason, Sakura found herself deflating and, with a small nod, accepting the not-quite-offer. Mei patted her head once, then turned around just in time to watch their second team enter a room with a fresh chuunin.

“You may thank me later,” Junji murmured. Sakura wasted no time attempting to dig her elbow into his side only to be met by nothing but thin air. Damn seal. With an unhappy grunt, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. The second team consisted of Miyazaki, Aranami, and if Sakura recalled her name correctly, Kawauso. The dolphin, swordfish and otter clans. She decided not to worry over how she knew that.

“If one of our teams fails, it's them,” Junji commented quietly, prompting Sakura to wrack her brain for what she knew of those genin. Katsumi was a talented swordfighter, an aggressive and agile combatant. Judging from the girl's clan dance, Sakura vetted Aranami as a skirmisher, one who darted in and out of their target's range, wearing them down while relying on pure speed to avoid getting hit. The last girl was a complete mystery to her.

“They're a combat cell. They won't specialise later on. If they pass this exam they're top contenders for reaching the final round of the arena fights.” Sakura squinted at the slightly blurry form of the otter girl, took in her slight build and the lack of weapons. Senbon then, and likely elemental jutsu with supplementary genjutsu? Then it dawned on her. Hunter-nin. If that one was already being trained for the hunters despite her young age, Sakura would willingly bet money on her becoming one of this year's finalists.

One minute passed, then two, soon three. The three took turns, alternated between questioning or physically injuring the chuunin. While they did go for weak spots and didn't lack the finesse to make those cuts hurt, they still failed to have the same effect that team one had. The time limit for the exam was ten minutes. Eight minutes in, they still struggled. Just as Katsumi was about to reach for his sword, temper clearly reaching its limit, the otter girl stepped in. She stared at the Konoha-nin, then formed six seals for a jutsu Sakura didn't recognise.

“Ah. Learned that from me, she did.” On either side of the chuunin the other two genin grabbed his shoulders and held him down as the girl approached, a medium-sized ball of water between her two hands. Something at the back of Sakura's memory lit up and after a second, she realised what she was looking at. And cringed.

“You still owe me for that one.” That she did. Kawauso moved her hands in front of the chuunin's face, then pushed downwards, enveloping the man's head in the ball of water. His legs kicked thin air as he struggled but the genin did a fine job of keeping him in place. After a few seconds, the girl pulled back and let him breathe only to repeat the process after what barely constituted as a break. Six repeats later, the man caved.

“Why waste time on interrogation when you can skip straight to torture instead.” Sakura snorted but privately, agreed with Junji. There was nothing wrong with knowing one's strengths and playing to them. Four years ago, the first part of the exam had been her biggest hurdle as well. She'd been studious and truth be told, that was the only reason she'd passed. Sakura wasn't suited for information gathering.

“What now?” she asked Junji, not paying any attention to their third and fake genin team. They'd pretend to struggle for a bit, then pass anyway. There was no need to worry.

“They get a day to solve the riddle. Once they got it, they'll spend the rest of the time on their designated training grounds. You're off the hook for now but during the one and a half week preparation for the arena fights, you're on the sparring roster.” Sakura shrugged. She'd known that and it wasn't like she minded.

 _'You have grown fond of those young ones,'_ Isobu chuckled. Sakura told him to can it. Half an hour later the first round had officially ended. Sakura followed Mei and Junji back to the rest of their delegation. She didn't know where the ANBU were, trusted them to be out of sight but still keeping an eye on Mei and the children in particular.

“Well done,” the woman spoke after inspecting the genin, dark eyes lingering on Ren for an additional heartbeat before moving on. He was paler than when she'd left him Sakura noted, and the shallow rise and fall of his chest bode ill. Mei's finger twitched, and between one blink and the next, the ANBU medic had appeared out of thin ain, placed her hands on his shoulders, and taken him with her. Presumably, back to their housing.

“You will solve your riddle on your own. Your teammate needs rest,” their jounin sensei declared. Kamenoko and Eiichi nodded solemnly, then huddled together, both staring at a scrap of paper in the girl's hands. The genin, along with the chuunin and jounin bid their goodbyes in the form of respectful bows, then as a group, followed Ren and the ANBU.

“Yuki. Scram.” Junji winked at Sakura before he too, simply disappeared, leaving Sakura behind with only Mei as her company. The older woman, in a move that had Sakura raise her brows, interlocked their arms and guided her out of the academy courtyard. She didn't mind the physical contact, had missed it more than she cared to admit, but surely in light of the precarious situation they were in, flaunting their closeness wasn't the best idea.

“There is no point in fighting me. Surely you know that by now.” Mei's voice was soft but even their proximity, as well as the steady thrum of chakra Sakura felt between them, did little to stop the budding anger rising from the depths of Sakura's being.

“Do you expect me to just blindly accept whatever you throw my way?” Sakura growled and, upon noticing the wary looks she drew from the civilians around them, forcefully wrestled her agitation and resulting aura, back underneath her skin.

“Tides, no. You've never done that.” There was something to what Mei said, or rather what she _didn't_ say but Sakura chose not to go down that road just yet.

“The attack on the boy was deliberate. But I spent three hours in a room with the Senju and I am convinced that she's not behind it.” Sakura's head whipped around and she stared at Mei who didn't return the gaze.

“Someone in Konoha is itching for blood and it's not her kage.”

“ _It's been three months. You barely even know me.”_

“ _Magura. Look at me.”_

“ _I have always known you. I always will. Now and forever and nothing can ever change that. If you don't trust yourself, then trust me instead.”_

“ _...I'm_ terrified _.”_

“ _There's no shame in being afraid... I'm scared too.”_

“ _So... what do you do?”_

“ _I remind myself that we have been in this situation, in this time and place, countless times before. And that we will no doubt continue to be in this situation, in this time and place, countless times more. We are eternal. We are [...]”_

“That was nice,” Sakura admitted and placed her chopsticks off to the side before leaning back and closing her eyes.

“It was.” She cracked one of her eyes open and watched Mei mirror her posture, fingers loosely resting in her lap. After the first exam they had both enjoyed the quiet and relative solitude of their housing. The teams, along with their sensei and ANBU to watch them were busy on the training grounds. Ren was asleep, the medic silently watching over him. Someone, judging from the very specific assortment of spices probably Junji, had left two bags of food from the markets on the desk in Sakura's room.

Mei had joined her and five minutes into their dinner Sakura couldn't even remember a shred of her earlier irritation and anger. It always went like this. In hindsight, always had been. Sakura had never been able to hold onto her negative feelings, not when it came to the Terumi. Once upon a time that would have pissed her off. Now Sakura found it hard to care.

“You seem different.” Sakura blinked and tilted her head to the side to catch Mei's dark eyes. The longer she stared the paler her skin got, colder, grey with hints of blue and red. The headache she expected to hit her any moment now never came.

“I... I can't remember most of it. But I meditated yesterday. Communed with Isobu. Something changed and my chest feels lighter now.” Mei hummed, casually inspecting Sakura and searching her face for something Sakura couldn't name.

“You're slowly accepting yourself for who you are,” the older woman eventually offered. Sakura thought about her words, mulled them over in her head.

“Maybe. I don't know. I'm not worrying much.” That drew a smile on Mei's lips.

“Perhaps you should-” The noise was faint but still disrupted the atmosphere. Knuckles on wood. Sakura frowned and looked at the woman opposite her who merely shook her head. A few seconds and hushed whispers later, the ANBU medic came through the slightly ajar door of Sakura's room.

“The Hyuuga wishes to invite Karatachi-sama to join her on her evening stroll.” A faint spark of annoyance rose up within Sakura who really didn't want to deal with the girl right now. Or anyone else. The mere idea of separating from the Terumi sat ill with her.

“That girl refuses to give up,” Mei murmured and Sakura didn't like the note of contemplation in her voice. Not at all.

“It's your choice, Tachi-chan.” Oh. Well. That was a surprise.

“Are you going to keep shortening my name?” Sakura asked as she got off her chair and smoothed her clan trappings. She didn't _want_ to spend time with the Hyuuga but was fully aware that while Mei outwardly gave her the choice to decline, she would prefer if Sakura accepted. Probably. Judging by Mei's pleased expression her hunch had been correct.

“For a while yet, yes.” What a non-answer. Sakura rolled her eyes and fastened her blades to her person while Mei watched.

“Try to be back before midnight.”

“A curfew?” Sakura asked with raised brows. Now that was a first. Mei snorted and shook her head as she reached for a small leftover piece of takoyaki.

“The next task starts early in the morning and you're needed as trainer directly afterward. Yuki already claimed his mini-me and I want Isobu to work with his disciple.” Sakura frowned at her kage and approached her when the woman wiggled her fingers. Reaching for Sakura's hair, Mei rearranged some of the smaller braids before pulling the jade pin she had given her to wear during the banquet from the depths of her dress and moving it in between some of the thicker braids at the back of her head.

“You are ill-suited for his coral techniques. She is not.” Briefly brushing her fingers against Sakura's cheek, Mei withdrew her hands, then gave her a single nod.

“Have fun.” Sakura rolled her eyes once more, then gave her a single wave and left the room. Trudging through the hallway, Sakura rubbed her forehead and released a tired sigh. The Hyuuga and her hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms but by now Sakura knew the girl well enough to be certain that she wouldn't bring it up or even hold a grudge. While not as much of a pushover as she'd initially suspected, the Hyuuga was too soft and kind to even consider holding Sakura's moodiness against her. Which, really, was the only reason the girl kept trying to reach out. And speaking of.

“G- good evening, Sakura-san.” She looked much like she did the last time she had shown up on their doorstep. Basic makeup and pale clothes though her current getup was at least somewhat more practical than a kimono. Sakura nodded at her and exited the building, closing the door behind her. After staring at each other for a few moments, the girl blushed and averted her eyes.

“H- How is your genin? Is he doing well?” Sakura violently squashed the flare of her temper, reminding herself that the girl's greatest flaw was simply being too kind. If she asked, it was because she genuinely cared-

“Ren is recovering. I expect to see all of our teams in the finals.” Which wasn't quite true considering the chuunin posing as genin would pass the second stage, participate in the preliminaries but intentionally lose if they were assigned to fight one of their actual genin.

“I'm glad. H- He shouldn't have come to harm.” No. He shouldn't have. Sakura closed her eyes and released a single breath, reining in her temper. It didn't fight her as much as she expected. If anything, it barely fought her at all. Silence fell over the two of them as Sakura followed the Hyuuga around the village. Now that the sun was slowly going down, temperatures fell to more pleasant levels. Konoha was too warm and while nighttime didn't get rid of the heaviness in the air, the smell of forest and pollen, it at least got rid of most of the warmth.

“A- Are you not cold?” the girl asked as they climbed the stairs to the Hokage monument. A strong gust of wind whipped around her head, almost pulling the pin from her braids and Sakura reached up to slide it into the collar of her shirt instead.

“I am Kiri,” she replied. The Hyuuga didn't ask her to elaborate and merely nodded her head as she shivered in the breeze. Sakura looked at the goosebumps on her skin, the faint tremors that shook her body, the way her fingers shivered and how she tried to pretend she felt nothing at all. Sakura's hand itched to her shawl, but she stopped herself. She didn't want to. But... Curses.

“Here.” She wasn't friendly and didn't look at the girl as she removed her clan shawl from her shoulders and offered it to the Hyuuga who, to her credit, rapidly shook her head from side to side.

“N- no, thank you. I'm f- fine,” she stammered but Sakura ignored her and stepped closer, unceremoniously placing the garment around her head, then dragging it down until it warmed her upper body. The Hyuuga's build was curvier, yet also slimmer. Sakura was delicate with most of her muscle hidden from view, much like Mei but she was still a far cry from the positively waifish figure of the girl by her side.

“A- are you s- sure this is o- okay?” Sakura grunted, then resumed their walk up the stairs. A single sideways glance told her that the Hyuuga stopped shivering and had buried her hands in the soft yet sturdy cloth of Sakura's clan shawl. Sakura herself felt little difference. Kiri's climate was much harsher and she welcomed the chilly air brushing against the bare skin of her shoulders and upper arms. Though she did regret exposing herself when she realised how similar Kiri's lycra ANBU shirts were to Konoha's.

“I... I wondered...” The Hyuuga trailed off and Sakura watched her, sighed quietly at the fierce blush covering her cheeks, and remembered Mei telling her that the girl had a crush on her. On Sakura. Honestly.

“W- Would you l-like to h- have tea with me?” Sakura frowned and blinked twice. The silence sent the girl into a visible fit as she scrambled for something else to say:

“J- just as f- friends. There's a n- nice tea s- shop and I c- can sneak out s- so the others w- won't b- bother us.” Sakura _did_ like tea. She scrutinised the blushing and stuttering mess that was Hyuuga Hinata, then shrugged and shoved her hands in the pockets of her combat pants.

“Alright.” If she was lucky the girl would drop some of her shyness and thus make for a comparatively pleasant company. And the promise of not being harassed by the Hyuuga's idiotic friends was just a bonus.

“M- maybe t- tomorrow? I c- can-”

“EH?! Hina-chan?! Is that you?” Of all the nightmares. Sakura didn't notice the rumble in her throat until the girl next to her had closed a hand around her wrist and gently tugged at it in an effort to pull her back towards where they came from.

“Q- quick, before h- he-” It was too late. There they were, Sakura's two old teammates. Both clad in what was probably supposed to be training outfits, somewhat sweaty and clearly unhappy to see her. The blonde jinchuuriki's eyes dipped lower until they rested on Hinata's hand being curled around Sakura's wrist.

“You shouldn't be out here all on your own.” Sakura, who clearly heard the words the blonde didn't say growled and bared her teeth. Before she even noticed it, she had taken a single step forwards, right hand resting dangerously close to the hilt of one of her tanto.

“Are we going to have a problem?” she asked, unable to keep the odd resonance she'd never noticed before out of her voice. A faint echo clung to her every syllable but instead of intimidating her, it sounded strangely... comforting.

“Hina, get away from her.” If at all possible, the Hyuuga clutched Sakura's wrist even tighter, tugging at it once more.

“S- Sakura-san and I were j- just leaving,” she declared with a faint hint of steel in her delivery. Sakura didn't budge, eyes stuck on the blonde that made her skin itch in all the unpleasant ways. When the other one moved, a boy she hadn't seen in over four years, her fingers grabbed the hilt of her blade.

“Hina, listen, I get that you... that you like her but remember what baa-chan said-”

“I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON HER!” The sudden volume coming from her left startled Sakura into instinctively drawing her sword and holding it in front of her body, automatically falling into a defensive stance. A single heartbeat later she realised who had yelled and her eyes widened in surprise. The Hyuuga now stood a step in front of Sakura, hands balled to fists, cheeks red with anger, pale eyes blazing in fury.

“I am a chuunin of Konohagakure and the ambassador to the Kirigakure no Sato delegation. _I_ am _not_ a child!” Thoroughly shaken from her budding rage, Sakura stared at the Hyuuga. It appeared that one had hidden a spine of steel underneath her meek exterior, after all. Perhaps not all surprises were unpleasant.

“Hina-”

“If you don't stop patronising me, Uzumaki Naruto-” Suddenly, the world fell silent as Sakura stilled.

U

Zu

Ma

Ki

Her eyes widened as time slowed down and she stared at the blonde, took in the slant of his eyes (wrong), the colour of his hair (wrong), the shape of his jaw ( _wrong_ )... the marks on his cheeks. Three lines on each side, almost like...

“Witch.” What had escaped her throat was not her voice. It was a growl, so old and deep, so primal and so positively thrumming with energy it _hurt_. Diamond on her forehead, hair the colour of a crimson dawn, nails like claws, and the _lines across her cheeks_ -

What filled Sakura could not be put into words. It was fury, it was rage, it was hatred, none of it hers, yet all of it _part_ of her and it flooded her veins, spread to every last cell of her body, tinted her vision red like the blood she spilled, filled her sheer pure energy the likes of which she'd never tasted before-

“WITCH!” she screeched in countless different voices, male, female, and everything in between, an echo of lost lives and claimed by her who brings the flames, the feathered demon, the child of fire, _the Red Queen Of The Whirlpool_ -

“What the fuck is going on- Hinata, get away from her!” She heard her voice in place of his, saw crimson in place of blonde, burning ember instead of blue, the one who summoned the phoenix instead of the boy who carried the fox. She sat in every breath he took, in every move he made, ran in his blood and pooled in his stomach, the last of the fire, the ascendant,

_U-Zu-Ma-Ki Mi-to._

“Naruto, leave! I can handle this-”

“Sasuke, are you _insane_ -”

“Sakura-san! SAKURA-SAN!”

She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't see as she fell deeper and deeper, drowned in images of fire and flame, of a burning city, the screams of those dying to the bird, the rush and crackle of massive fiery wings sweeping above her home, burning her skies, eradicating her people-

“Mangekyou Sharingan!”

“Sasuke, no!”

She looked up as her vision returned and sharpened, she saw the boy who was not a boy, and another who was darker and paler both and had red eyes that spun, spun,... sp-un...

_'No. No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'_

She was caught in circles of red and black, spun in the same rhythm they did as she floated, rose higher and higher as the world once more fell out of focus and the cool comfort that rested in her body withdrew, slithered through her pathways, leaving behind nothing but darkness.

They spun and spun and spun and she rose and rose and rose, the lights dimmed, one after another they died in her arms, her legs, then her chest and her thighs, her waist and her hips until they reached her belly and went out one by one until there were only four... three... two... one...

_'RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!'_

Nothingness.

The girl deflated, head hanging low, face obscured by long pink strands. Her chest rose and fell heavily, her arms and legs were still, the malevolent aura that had spread across the clearing once more nestled beneath her skin. One second passed. Then two. Then three.

Then, she raised her head, and in the darkness of the night, cutting through the filter that drained the world of all its colour, where there was meant to be darkened jade, was glowing magenta.

“ **UCHIHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”**

“ _[...] never die.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. Well. See you all in a bit! :)


	16. Act II: Part VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.  
> Junji and Kakashi.  
> Karatachi and Terumi.
> 
> Threads unravel and that what slumbers in the deep grows restless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @scattereddreamers: I'm glad you liked it and didn't mind the long break. I didn't plan on it but hey, I won't do it again. :D Welcome back! :)  
> @sakuraisbadass: Welcome back and thank you! :) I appreciate that you're still around.  
> @AriAlter: Omg, that comment is so adorable. I absolutely love it! It's spot-on.  
> @Boycottlove: Welcome back! :) Yes, Ren is fine. The kids are precious, aren't they. As for Sasuke and Naruto... nobody ever accused them of thinking things through. And Hinata has a spine of steel and nobody can convince me otherwise.  
> @fangirl_of_glitter: "Not good for the peace talks" really is quite the massive understatement...  
> @Lindsey Woodruff: No, not that. What he lets loose is worse.  
> @Meowler: Welcome back! Haha, I'm glad you like it and I promise I won't take such a long break again.  
> @I_should_be_doing_something_else: Dayum right.  
> @shadows_haunt_angels: It's only going to get worse from here, especially as I'm wrapping up Act II and heading towards the finale of the story.  
> @Haven247: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like my series (that really kind of ended up being Naruto in name only but shhhh). And if you think that this is as bad as it gets, then you're wrong. ;)  
> @cubanabruja1: Thank you D: That means a lot to me. I struggle a lot with my vocabulary and writing skill so it's so nice to hear something like that. I'm super glad you enjoy my fic so much and I hope you will continue to enjoy future updates.

_What truly made this a tragedy, was that this curse didn't have enough mercy to send him to sleep. He tried, oh tides, he tried. But no matter how often he closed his eyes, no matter how many times he tried to look away, he couldn't shut his senses to the harsh reality of what he was doing. Without fail, each and every time he was forced to turn his head and witness the atrocities his own body committed without his consent._

_He watched himself slaughter his brethren from the shadowy prison in his mind, wrapped his hands around the bars, tried to fight. He was a wild animal, a savage beast, a kinslayer. He betrayed his people, ended more lines than he could count, bathed in the blood of those he had sworn to protect at all cost. He picked fights, challenged those around him while anxiously waiting for the day he would force the hand of someone who could strike him down._

_And every single day, every waking moment, he would see those red eyes high up in the sky, a burning crimson sun with a black jagged pupil that would spin without pause, without fail, without compassion. He would never..._ never _... forget those eyes. Not in this life._ Or _the next._

When Sakura woke, the world was grey. The image wavered, showed dark hazy planes and tall trees made of thick shadows that reached towards the sky. A pure red sky. She blinked and rubbed her eyes but the image didn't fade. She looked down on herself, saw her own shadowy form, pale, derived of colour, and just as hazy as her surroundings.

“Hello?” Her voice echoed across the planes, bounced back and forth until it returned to her, twisted and dark and... wrong. She took a single step forward but instead of the grass she expected, felt cold stone beneath her feet. Rubbing her arms she stopped, and her breath hitched. She was... cold. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt even slightly chilly. White puffs of air materialised in front of her face with every breath she released as tiny bumps formed on her skin.

“What is this place...” Sakura murmured quietly, narrowing her eyes at the swaying trees, the burning red, the pale grass that wasn't quite grass. This felt nothing like her cavern, or even the ocean that had become her refuge. Then again with everything that had happened to her lately... how was she to know if that was real or merely a construct conjured by her own mind.

Or, Sakura thought grimly as she took in the colour scheme that stabbed at her heart like a knife, someone else's mind. Tentatively taking another step, Sakura slowly made her way in no direction in particular. She bit her lip as she watched her environment shift with every step she took, to never change, to always stay the same. Wherever she was and however she had gotten there... was clearly meant to be a prison.

She wandered. For seconds, for minutes, for hours, she couldn't say. The sky never changed, the shadows never wavered. There was no time in this place. The utter silence soon became unbearable. The world was never still, there was always a whisper, a creak, a brush of air, a hint of life. Sakura's ears began to pulse as the silence got louder and louder, oppressive, and demanding. She clasped her hands over her ears but it didn't help. Nothing did. She had to... had to...

“ _...mmmmmhmmmmm...”_ Sakura stopped. Her heartbeat sped up as she removed the hands from her ears and held her breath. She waited and waited but nothing happened. But hadn't she heard... no. No. She had probably just imagined it. Shaking her head, she forced herself to go on, hands furiously rubbing her arms in an effort to reclaim some of the warmth she had been deprived of.

“ _...hhhmmmm mmmmhhh...”_ Again. This time Sakura knew she hadn't simply imagined it. She strained her ears, caught the lingering echoes of a hum that floated in the air, little more than a far-off whisper. She turned her head, whirled around her axis, searched, listened-

There. Sakura broke into a sprint, chasing the remnants of the hum, faint and fleeting as they were. She ran and ran while moving nowhere at all. The hum came and went, always calling for her, always begging her to follow. It climbed into her ears, brushed against her skin, played with her hair and tugged at her like a string attached to a puppet.

Sakura's body never tired, she never ran out of breath and no matter how fast she moved, her skin and insides remained as chilly as the rest of this place. Because here, nothing changed. Eventually, she stopped dead. She didn't need to rest or breathe, felt as empty as before. Tilting her head backwards, she stared at the red sky, watched the same clouds throw the same shadows, observed the trees sway in the same pattern, the shadowy tendrils crawl just so.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek and curled her hands to fists. Fury rose up within her, an icy current that burnt hot and cold at the same time. Gritting her teeth, she bristled with anger as every single muscle in her body tensed and she invited the storm, helpless and caught in this shadow realm, lost and furious, oh so _furious_ -

“ _...mmmmmmmmmmmm...”_ Sakura's chest still rose and fell heavily as her head whipped to the side. This time, the hum was nothing like the echo it used to be. It was stronger, closer, just out of reach but so tempting, coaxing her into heeding its call-

She was moving before she even realised it. The spark in her chest remained, went lower until it pooled in her empty, _so terribly empty_ stomach. As she ran, she moved one of her hands on top of it, searching and feeling for something she couldn't name but instinctively knew was missing. Clawing her nails into her bare skin, she nearly doubled her speed, pulled along by the whispers.

“ _...come, child...”_ No longer a whisper, more than a mere hum, the sound had morphed into a voice, yet not. Different echoes, like threads of silk, weaved around each other to come together and form something larger, something almost... tangible. Little wisps stuck to the echoes, trailed after them, tinkling softly like small golden bells and the experience was so vivid, so unusually bright and clear, Sakura knew it was not a product of this prison. It cut through the haze, forced the shadows to part ever so slightly and lingered close to her ears, banishing the silence.

“ _Listen... listen...”_ She didn't run anymore. Sakura moved forwards, stumbled at first, then walked. Every single one of her steps was deliberate and this time, when she faced ahead, saw the shadowy trees come closer. She didn't try to evade the tendrils that reached for her, made no efforts to sidestep them. Whenever they came close enough to touch her the bells tinkled once more and forced them away.

“ _Listen my child,  
Oh listen to me.”_

Straining her ears, Sakura stepped past the shadowy line, into the dark forest. What little light had shown her the way was snuffed out, devoured by the shadows. She couldn't see so she closed her eyes and allowed the melodic whispers to guide her.

“ _Come closer, come closer,  
Home to the Sea.”_

From far away, so far she could barely hear it, Sakura caught faint cries of seagulls and the rush of waves rising and crashing into each other. Instinctively she sniffed the air and smelled salt and seaweed. She latched onto it, and felt the pull stronger than ever before.

_Look far below,  
Where there is no life.”_

There was blackness all around her but instead of pressing down on her, taking her breath and freezing her from the inside out, it felt oddly... warm to the touch. Gentle whispers, like breaths of air, brushed along her skin, accompanied by those faint tinkling bells that came from everywhere and nowhere at once.

“ _Where it is dark and void,_

_Where none thrive.”_

The voice faded in and out, yet with every word it became clearer, lost a fragment of its twisted and hazy nature. The sound was oddly familiar and while Sakura couldn't place it she knew she'd heard it countless times before.

“ _There is the home,_

_The hidden grotto.”_

Sakura pressed her hands over her ears at the sudden, nigh deafening rush of water assaulting her senses. From one moment to the next she was drenched from head to toe and pulled under. Water filled her lungs and she grasped her throat in panic, trying not to drown... until she realised that she had no need for air in the first place.

“ _The sanctum of the One,_

_We worship so.”_

She watched and felt the water move in and out of her lungs, tiny bubbles of air traveling upwards only to disappear in the thick darkness above. Sakura pressed a hand on top of her chest, trying to calm her racing heart when her attention was caught by something else. A barely visible dark green light blinked in the distance, pulsated and with each beat, came closer. Sakura didn't move, utterly transfixed by the eerie glow the light threw onto its surroundings. Squinting her eyes, Sakura stared until she could make out jagged edges, rock and algae, coral, and...

“ _She slumbers deep,_

_She waits for the day.”_

It moved. Whatever it was, it moved. There was no fear within Sakura, only a faint ache in her chest that urged her to get closer. Slowly she made use of her arms and legs, swam closer with cautious strokes. The light moved with her, throwing shadows that felt nothing at all like the ones she had escaped from.

“ _That Her eyes will return,_

_To forever stay.”_

She saw it. It was right there, in front of her and she tilted her head upwards, higher and higher to where even the light couldn't reach and all her eyes caught were swaying shadows. It shimmered in the light and she knew they were scales and fins but she didn't pay any attention to them. It lingered above her, came closer and closer, and just as it entered the light and Sakura could make out shapes, forms, even colours, the luminescence faded. A heartbeat later, she was dragged away, pulled further down, staring up at two heads and four eyes that haunted her dreams.

“ _The heart and the mind,_

_The soul split in two.”_

With a gasp, she came to. Sakura breathed heavily and looked around, one hand holding her head to try and dispel vertigo and sickness that had taken root inside her skull. She closed her eyes and took a few moments to focus on her breathing. When she opened them once more, the world had changed.

“ _The twin moons who protect,_

_Guide, shelter you.”_

The bells were back and with them, they brought faint laughter that echoed all around her. Between one blink and the next, there were lights, colours, people. Sakura stood in the middle of a giant room, underneath a glittering brilliant chandelier, surrounded by men and women in expensive silks that twirled around each other, drinks in their hands and joy in their hearts. Their skin was blue, green or grey, covered in scales or thin shell, adorned with fins or spikes, gills or even small pieces of coral. Their hair was long, their bodies covered in jewelry, their movements elegant and fluid.

“ _Lay down your head,_

_Recite your prayers.”_

Sakura waded through the crowd, passing through the blurry shapes of those around her as if they were mere ghosts. Their laughter and hushed conversation mixed with the bells and music, floated around the room as if they were part of the air itself. She didn't know where she was going, let herself be pulled along by whatever it was that guided her until she came to a stop. In front of her eyes, the crowd parted, and revealed something that pierced right through her chest, hurt more than anything else Sakura had ever experienced before in her entire life.

“ _Offer your sacrifice,_

_And Honour theirs.”_

Right in front of her were two women, one dressed in blue, the other in green. Their hands were joined, their painted lips split into blissful smiles as they twirled and danced, strands of hair that was longer than their bodies floating behind them with every movement they made. She looked at them, took in the mixture of red and pink, blue and green, the scales and fins of one, the smooth skin and webbing of the other. She watched and watched, longed to touch and reach out, didn't recognise them even though _she knew who they were_ -

“ _Listen my child,_

_Oh listen to me.”_

Just as before, this image faded out too. Shadows crept up all around her, took the scene and ripped it apart until Sakura had little more than whisps and fragments that slid through her fingers no matter how often she tried to catch them. She ignored the burn in her throat, the indescribable longing in her chest, the salt in her eyes.

“ _Come closer, come closer,_

_Home to the Sea.”_

This time, when Sakura blinked, she found herself at a shore. Waves crashed against the cliffside, salt lingered in the air, as a wild storm raged all around her. She looked at the colour of the stone, the jagged rock formations a short distance off the coast, turned around to take in the dreary and dismal expanse of Yumishima's deadness.

“ _Stay for a while,_

_As she soars and falls.”_

The image blurred and shifted became distorted until looking at it gave her a headache. Still, she didn't avert her eyes and thus didn't miss the way the scene flickered and changed, momentarily replaced by green grass, tall spires that reached up into the sky, people sparring to the left, children playing to the right.

“ _And ready for the day,_

_That she calls.”_

With a sudden crash, flames rose up from the ground and consumed everything in their path, dousing the sky in a violent orange. Surprised and terrified both, Sakura took a step backwards. Her foot met nothing but air and with a gasp that was drowned out by the sound of a people dying and a city crumbling, she fell.

She fell and fell and fell, sank deep beneath the tides and then, just before her spirit faded, she saw the massive shadow that slithered around her, intercepted her descent. She landed softly on cool scales, lips parted, eyes about to shut. A deep rumble emanated from the shadow as it twisted and turned, came ever closer until it was right in front of her. The lights around Sakura dimmed as all fight left her and she surrendered to the darkness.

“ _Sssslumber, oracle.”_

And slumber she did.

It wasn't the roar he heard first. Neither did he notice the change in the air, the barely noticeable note of rain and ozone. No. What Junji noticed first, before any of the other changes hit him suddenly and without warning, was a wave of chakra so strong it knocked him off course and nearly sent him flying into a building.

He held onto a wall with chakra in his limbs as he let this new, incredibly potent aura wash over him. It was sharp and oppressive, dark and massive, like a giant black hole that sucked him in, pulled him under, filled his lungs with water and squeezes until all life had left his body. Junji only barely held onto the wall as he coughed on instinct, attempting to expel water from his insides that wasn't there, wasn't real.

Then, he heard the roar. It ripped through the silence that had fallen over the village after the sun had set, so violent and primal he ducked his head in between his arms to shield his ears. His body shivered and he closed his eyes for a moment in an effort to regain his senses when he sniffed the air, taking in the foreign yet familiar fragrance that had replaced the sweetness that was so natural to Konoha.

He clung to the wall, reeling from the impact as his mind slowly came back to itself, connected the smell, the aura and the roar, stuttered... and stopped.

“No...” he whispered, eyes turned east to where he sensed this explosion of chakra, the kind he hadn't felt in almost a decade, one that was not supposed to be there, be anywhere ever again-

He was running before he noticed it. His eyes were focused and cold as he slid the metaphorical mask over his face in place of the one he had left behind in his room. He shut down instantly, suppressed anything that was not the aura he closed in on. He couldn't afford to think. If he did, he would lose focus and drown in sheer and utter panic.

Junji flew across Konoha's rooftops, feet never even touching the ground. The ANBU tailing him couldn't catch up and those who sped towards the same destination wasted no time trying to intercept him. Countless signatures came to life all over the village, and all of them were taking the same path he did. He had to... he couldn't...

Junji thought of pink hair, magenta eyes, and doubled his pace. Just when he vaulted above the Hokage tower, he felt a second, stronger presence by his side. They didn't acknowledge each other, didn't talk, both had their eyes focused on what waited ahead. Three jumps later, they had reached their destination. And Junji almost wished he hadn't.

A massive, almost solid wall of water cut off an entire area of Konoha's forest. Various ANBU were scattered along its edge, some attacking the barrier, others preparing seals to try and collapse the giant chakra construct. Junji closed his eyes and reached for it only to flinch as if he had been burned.

“Impossible,” he breathed as his heart violently beat inside his chest. He tried to calm it but only ended up scratching his wrist, a nervous tick he couldn't suppress no matter how much he wanted to. It reeked of him, of his essence, of one he had never wanted to come across ever again.

“My students are in there.” Junji ignored the hiss coming from his right as he stared at the water dome, fingers trembling. Memories spilled from where he had locked them away, hidden behind bars and locks, to never remember again. Streets that ran red, water that was stained brown for weeks, years, severed heads on spikes, the mindless slaughter of his own people, the lives his hands had ended alone-

“Yuki!” A hand found its way onto his shoulder and on pure instinct, Junji drew his blade and held it against the man's neck. He saw silver hair, a masked face, a single dark eye. Neither moved for a second in which Junji connected the person to a name and his heartbeat resumed. Dropping his sword, Junji turned away, hands clenched into fists.

“Get her,” he murmured, then when nothing happened, Junji stalked to one of the ANBU groups and grabbed one of them by the cloth of his shirt, pulling him away from whatever seal he was working on.

“Get the Mizukage!” he barked and shoved the man away from the dome, towards the village.

“NOW!” Behind Junji, Hatake gave a single sharp nod which finally spurred the ANBU into action. Refusing to think, he reached for his chakra, turned his very insides to ice. Frost crept along his arms and legs, turned the grass around him to snow.

“If that girl harms either of those kids I will put her down.” The ice that had begun to wander up the water dome shattered instantly as Junji's head whipped around and between one blink and the next, had encased the man's lower half in a chilly prison. A growl escaped his throat, a sound he hadn't made for years, and he snapped his teeth at the man.

“Shut your damn mouth, Hatake. This is out of your fucking league!” he spat, channeling the panic, the worry, the _fear_ into fury instead. He stalked closer to the man who had already replaced himself with a log and now stood a few feet away from him.

“What did your kids do? _What did they do?!_ ” Junji demanded, hands and arms pure white, the frost that had completely encased his body glittering in the moonlight.

“What do you mean 'what did they do'? That girl has been out of control ever since she graduated from the academy! I've known her for longer than you have and if anyone lost their damn mind it was that menace-”

“ _Don't you dare-_ ” Junji was on him faster than he could react. His chakra roiled, a far cry from the chilly jagged current it usually was. It spiked, wild and agitated, and showed itself in the ice crystal formations that sprung up all around the pair. Two ANBU attempted to interfere but before they could even try to come between the two, his chakra had already lashed out and turned them to ice statues.

“This country, these people, those headless children, _you_ , all of you are so blind and _pathetic_ and _look what you have done-_!” Hatake snarled and drew a kunai, slashing at Junji who effortlessly dodged every single one of his attempts. Lightning sparked and crackled between the man's fingertips and the sight of it only fuelled Junji's wrath.

“You should be glad that Sasuke was around! Only an Uchiha can put a rampaging biju to sleep-” Junji froze. His chakra withered and died, retreated back beneath his skin as he stared at the man in front of him, eyes wide, mind blank.

“What did you say?” he whispered and begged, prayed, that he had misunderstood him. Not again. Tides, not _again_. Hatake frowned, then warily dropped out of his combat stance, kunai still in front of his body.

“The Sharingan is capable of controlling a biju and forcing them to rest. The girl no doubt lost control of the sanbi and he did what he had to, to protect the village.” Forcing it to rest, putting it to sleep. Junji couldn't move, couldn't think, as he fully realised that for the second time in his life, he found himself in the worst nightmare of them all.

“Hatake,” he whispered hoarsely and felt the stirrings of his earlier fury. It ran colder than ever before, an icy winter the likes of which he had never encountered before.

“Do you know what happened the last time an Uchiha sent the sanbi to sleep?” The man didn't move as he stared at Junji, black meeting grey. His lips parted until they revealed the sharp tips of his canines before Junji closed his eyes, hands spread out on either side of his body, the ground beneath him turning to solid ice. He reached up to draw his blades and once more looked at Hatake who must have realised what was happening since he armed himself as well. For a single second, nothing happened. Then, Junji growled:

“ _Chigiri_.”

Pain. That was the first sensation Hinata's mind registered as it slowly woke from its haze. Every single nerve in her body was on fire and with every breath she drew, a sharp flare of agony stabbed at her lungs. Her own heartbeat echoed in her ears, overshadowing a dull cacophony of sounds that seemed so far away she couldn't grasp them even if she tried.

A faint ringing noise bounced around in her head and slowly she opened her eyes, only to be met by darkness. Tiny lights splattered her black vision and after she blinked a few times and the blurriness faded, Hinata realised they were the stars. Bit by bit she regained awareness of herself and her surroundings.

She dug her fingers into the earth she laid on, felt the grass against her skin and shivered in the cold night air. A faint smell of salt and rain entered her nose and she recognised its source to be the shawl resting on her shoulders. It was soft and teal, not her own, had been given to her by-

“S...Sakura...san...” Hinata groaned and moaned when she rolled her head to the side, overcome by sudden vertigo. She willed her body to obey her will until she found herself on her hands and knees. The world around her shifted and swayed so she closed her eyes to stave off the motion sickness. The steady thrum in her ears came and went and in between, she heard the rush of water, deep throaty growls, and yells that were so familiar to her yet she couldn't place them.

Taking a few shallow breaths, Hinata placed her palm on her forehead as she slowly got to her feet. She swayed, but caught herself before she could stumble and fall. Something was weighing her down but she grit her teeth and fought against it. She had felt this particular type of pressure before, just once, and while she'd surrendered to it then, this time she refused to. Hinata made mistakes, and she'd sworn to herself to never repeat them.

Once she had steadied, stood solidly with both feet on the ground, she raised her head and opened her eyes. Her lips parted as she stared, eyes wide, at the wall of water a few feet away from her. She raised her head and followed it upwards until she realised why the stars had seemed so blurry. The wall, more of a dome, reached high up in the sky, flowing in a gentle current, never losing shape or form.

Morbid curiousity made Hinata activate her byakugan only to gasp quietly upon seeing the countless thin threads of chakra that twirled around each other, resting between the inner and outer shell of the dome-like a perfect weave of cloth. This wasn't how chakra worked, her brain supplied quietly. The dome had no obvious source, the weave was too stable and autonomous, almost... sentient.

Her breath caught when she remembered that she _had_ seen something like this before, just once, back when she had felt this pressure that made her think of drowning, of sinking beneath the waters, of never breathing real air again. Magenta flashed in front of her eyes and all at once, awareness slammed back into Hinata who whirled around only to cry out in surprise.

There they were, left and right, red and blue, hot and cold. They stood opposite of each other with their teeth bared and their faces twisted in fury. Bright orange chakra covered Naruto-kun from head to toe as he launched himself at the statue that was Sakura-san only to be intercepted and flung out of the way by a large tendril of water that came from seemingly nowhere. With a furious yowl, the blonde boy crashed into a group of trees before shooting out of the forest and towards the Kiri-nin again.

This time, the girl was not as passive. She met him halfway, surrounded by a shell of water that took the brunt of the Uzumaki's chakra claws. Too late did Hinata's eyes catch the glint of metal. By the time she did, the blade had already sunk into Naruto-kun's chest. That, at last, set her in motion. Hinata stumbled, the broke into a sprint, ignoring every single warning her brain screamed at her. The blonde boy dropped to the ground and Hinata could only watch in horror as Sakura-san angled her sword downward, ready to pierce his neck when suddenly, the boy was gone.

In a flash of red and orange, he appeared behind the pink-haired jounin who turned around just in time to dodge a wide swipe of his claws. Hinata stopped and stared, caught in the stalemate they appeared to be in. Sakura-san was fast, so much faster than Naruto-kun but whatever she did to him, he shrugged it off and bounced back. Hinata moved her hands through her hair, knowing there was nothing she could do but so desperate to _make it stop_ -

Her eyes shifted to the side and that was when she saw him. The crumbled form of Sasuke, lying on a waterlogged patch of grass close to the tree line. Hinata sprinted towards him, acutely aware of the fight going on to her right that forced her to jump and duck to avoid the occasional water jutsu that wasn't even aimed at her.

“Sasuke... Sasuke, are you alright?” She placed a hand over his chest and sighed in relief upon feeling a steady heartbeat. His eyes were closed with thin streams of blood running down his cheeks. Hinata recalled red eyes, a spinning black iris, and a furious roar of pure timeless rage before everything had gone dark.

He didn't answer so Hinata closed her eyes and bit her lip, then tried to remember what little she learned about medical jutsu. She'd never asked Tsunade-sama to teach her, the position of her apprentice had gone to Choji instead, but she and Ino had studied under Shizune for a while and she hoped her efforts were good enough.

A faint green glow flickered to life as she concentrated, blocked out the sounds and images of the battle raging close, too close, to her. Pouring her chakra into Sasuke's body, Hinata ignored the bruises, likely a result of brute force impact, and focused on minor internal bleeding instead. Once that was taken care of, she moved upwards, felt for his brain, then sent a tiny jolt of chakra into the organ.

The body underneath her hands spasmed and jerked. As if stung by a bee, Hinata let go and shuffled backwards to give the boy enough room to breathe. He seemed confused and Hinata worried she had misjudged the amount of chakra she'd used, when he stilled before his upper body off the ground, clutching his side. Dark eyes met her own until they got distracted by the fight between Naruto-kun and Sakura-san.

“What happened?” the boy demanded. All Hinata could do was shrug helplessly, fingers grasping the cloth of the shawl.

“I... I just woke up. You used your Sh... Sharingan. I don't... don't know what happened after that.” Sasuke frowned and grunted, trying to get to his feet. When Hinata rushed to his side, he surprised both of them by not fighting her efforts to help him.

“She's crazy. Always has been but whatever Kiri has done to her only made her worse,” the Uchiha growled and Hinata bit her lip and averted her eyes. She could not deny it, no matter how much she wanted to. She'd felt drawn to her back when they had met again after years of silence and despite her rude and cold attitude, Hinata had looked forward to exchanging letters. Even when she had shown up in Konoha, bloodied and full of rage, Hinata had enjoyed being around her. But this?

She steadied Sasuke, both of them frozen in place, watching their closest friend fight their former comrade to the death. Neither of them held back. Neither showed mercy. Both looked at each other as if they were the enemy.

“She's always been good but... that's not her. I don't know _what_ it is but I sealed away the sanbi and she should be crippled, hindered by the lack of chakra at the very least. Instead, she's...” the Uchiha trailed off, interrupted by a giant torrent of water that hit Naruto-kun right in the face, would have reduced anyone else to little more than flesh, blood and bones.

“It's her eyes, I think. She... they were m- magenta before. Once. She killed an Akatsuki then.” Hinata's words died in her throat as she realised the implications of this. She had died, that time. Died and somehow come back to life as her body had mended itself. And then she hadn't stopped until her target had been slain.

“The idiot jumped between us. She doesn't care about him. Not as much as she cares about me.” Hinata swallowed audibly as a faint echo of Sakura-san yelling his name entered her mind. She shivered at the memory.

“Where is everyone else? The whole village has to be awake by now,” Sasuke asked with a frown and looked around, stopping briefly once he laid eyes on the dome surrounding them.

“There's no way she has enough chakra for that, not without her biju. What the hell...” Hinata quietly agreed. While it was undeniable that Sakura-san had always been the strongest of their generation, conjuring enough water to create a dome of such massive proportions and keeping it stable while fighting someone with a number of high ranked suiton jutsu... such reserves were far beyond the level of a jounin, ANBU or not.

Deep down, she had known that something was off. How could she not, after witnessing the girl slay an actual S-Rank criminal? On top of that, ever since the Kiri delegation had arrived in Konoha, one oddity had chased the next. From Sakura-san's getup at the banquet to her constant shift in moods and mannerism to her almost worrying relationship to her kage the nature of which seemed to be clear to nobody...

Hinata had many flaws but she wasn't _blind_. Something was happening, something all but a few were oblivious to and all of it seemed to center around Karatachi Sakura and Terumi Mei.

“Go and try to get help. Maybe there's a weakness in the dome somewhere. They're probably trying to break it already. I'll make sure the idiot doesn't get himself killed.” He shrugged off her arm and made for the fighting pair, not sparing her another glance. Hinata bit her lip, stared at his back, watched as a few feet ahead Sakura-san skewered Naruto-kun's body with a barrage of water spikes only for the boy to clutch his side, rest for a single breath, then jump into the fray once more.

She was just about to turn around and run towards the village when a furious roar nearly sent her to the ground. Hinata regained her balance, whirled around and clasped her hands over her mouth in horror. Sakura-san stood in front of Naruto-kun who was limp and lifeless, suspended in the air by two swords, one of which was stabbed through his stomach, the other through his throat. Blood ran down his body, his eyes were closed _and his chest wasn't moving_ -

“ **Not today, Kurama,** ” the girl growled in that terrible blend of voices Hinata still heard in her nightmares as she ignored the blonde boy in favour of stalking towards Sasuke.

“N- Naruto-kun...?” Hinata asked, teary-eyed and extended her hand to try and reach out.

“ _I will kill you!_ ” She flinched when Sasuke yelled and charged at Sakura-san. Hinata gasped and didn't stop to think, broke into a run to try and get to him before he would run into the arms of a prowling and waiting predator-

“ **Pathetic Uchiha.** ” A single burst of water slammed into the boy. Hinata screamed when he sailed past her, hit the ground hard and rolled across the grass. He had already been injured and Hinata knew he would not get up again. Tears streamed down her face but still, she whirled around and stared at the girl that came closer, slowly, taking her time, victory burning in her glowing eyes.

“D- don't! Please! D- don't k- kill him!” She shook, grief, fear and desperation causing her body to tremble like a leaf in the wind. Still, she faced the girl who had come to a stop, eyeing her like she was deciding whether Hinata was food or not. Magenta eyes dipped lower, where they got stuck.

“ **You wear my clan shawl.** ” Hinata breathed shallowly, terrified and exhausted before nodding rapidly.

“Y- you g- gave it t- to me b- because I w- was c-c- cold,” she stammered, painfully aware of the chakra tendril emanating from the girl, tendrils and threads that danced in the air around her, charging it with the oppressive aura that threatened to push Hinata to her knees once more. Sakura-san seemed pensive as she regarded Hinata for another heartbeat.

“ **Step aside, girl. I will not harm you.** ” Relief flooded Hinata, closely followed by dread. She couldn't. She couldn't step aside and she knew it. Even if she was going to be killed just like the others she would not give up and desert her friends. More tears streamed down her cheeks as she shut her eyes and shook her head, hands clutching the hem of her shirt.

“N- no,” she replied, voice weak yet firm. She stared at magenta and pink, saw death and violence, but refused to bow and thought that if she had to die, she would at least do so with pride in her heart.

“ **Your loyalty does you credit.** ” Hinata had little time to ponder the meaning behind those words. Before she could react, she found herself pushed out of the way, flung to the side by a stream of water that sent her flying far away. She hit the ground with a dull thud but felt little pain, realised that the water had caught most of the impact.

“-nata! Hinata!” Her head snapped around and what she saw had her scramble to her knees. She had been thrown to the edge of the dome and on the other side, saw numerous ANBU, Team 7's old sensei, Shizune, Tsunade-sama... she nearly gasped in relief and pressed her palms against the dome.

“Please, help! I t- think s- she k- killed Naruto-kun and S- Sasuke n- needs h- help!” Her words had an immediate effect on those on the other side. Hatake-san blanched, Shizune covered her mouth and Tsunade-sama let out a furious yell before ramming her fist into the dome. The impact nearly deafened Hinata, was as loud as a clap of thunder, but the dome didn't shatter, didn't budge.

“GODDAMNIT!” Hinata looked behind her, saw Sasuke standing on wobbly feet, restrained by two shadow clones that had wrapped a water leash around each of his arms. Sakura-san stood in front of him, showing her fangs, one hand gripping the boy by his throat.

“WHERE THE HELL IS TERUMI?!” She watched, helplessly, as Sakura-san let go of Sasuke's throat only to turn around and walk away from him. Despite herself, hope bloomed in her chest and Hinata thought that perhaps she might have changed her mind-

That was when she saw the handsigns. The girl took her time, was in no rush, and while Hinata could see which signs she made, she didn't know the jutsu associated with them. Not that she needed to. After watching the Kiri-nin end the Akatsuki, Hinata knew what an executioner looked like.

Three things happened at the same time. Sakura-san whirled around, lips parted, final seal in front of her body. A frenzied roar tore through the air behind her, accompanied by a near deafening rush of water and an aura that had Hinata clutch her heart in panic. Two shadows zipped past her, one aiming for Sasuke, the other for Sakura-san.

“ _ **Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!**_ ” A gigantic stream of water exploded from Sakura-san's palms and raced towards Sasuke, wide and large enough to reduce the Hokage tower to rubble and dust. Dimly, Hinata became aware of the water that had drenched her, washed over her and left her a soaked mess as she stared, and watched the waterfall head for the bound Uchiha.

Then, a second before it would have completely and utterly torn him to pieces, the shadow reached him and snatched him, only barely saving him from certain death in time. Men and women in masks flooded the area, led by Tsunade-sama who cut a bee-line straight for Naruto-kun, cursing but sitting down and getting to work.

Last but not least, Hinata barely caught the flash of blue and red that grabbed Sakura-san by the throat before sprinting off into the distance.

“You three, go after-”

“Don't.” Hinata looked at the tall Kiri ANBU that had always stuck close to Sakura-san. His face was empty and grim, a cold icy expanse that perfectly complimented the ice he left behind on the ground with each step he took.

“Whoever you send after them is going to die,” he stated as he marched past Tsunade-sama and Naruto-kun's lifeless body, ignored the carnage his fellow ANBU and companion had left behind.

“Your damn jinchuuriki lost it in my village, nearly murdered one of my chuunin, was about to execute another and you tell me not to make sure she and her kage are not going to lay waste to more of my country?” It had been the wrong thing to say. The ice expanded in a ring around the man's feet as he slowly turned around, cold hard fury etched into his face. He growled and showed his teeth in a gesture Hinata had long ago come to associate with Kiri just as she had learned to fear it.

“Even you sad, faithless people should bend your knees and bow your heads to pray to whatever power is willing to take pity on you that by the time Terumi-sama loses control, she will have taken her far enough away from your forsaken village that the fallout won't consume it.”

“What the HELL is wrong with you people?!” Tsunade-sama yelled as her green hands roamed Naruto-kun's body which had been lowered to the ground and was still bleeding profusely. Hatake-san, equal parts pale and furious, approached with an unconscious Sasuke in his arms that he gently placed on the grass for Shizune to take care of.

“Your chuunin ensnared the sanbi, ignorant of the disastrous consequences his action would bring. He paid the price for it. You are lucky, luckier than I can put into words, that her desire for revenge surpassed that for mindless slaughter.” The man sounded haunted, Hinata suddenly realised, and she couldn't help but wonder if he had witnessed a time when there had been less luck to go around.

“Perhaps if your village didn't breed and raise its shinobi to become mass-murdering maniacs you wouldn't have these problems to begin with!” Tsunade-sama bit out as she poured more and more chakra into Naruto-kun's body. The Kiri ANBU growled and the air around him grew even colder, before he stopped himself, interrupted by a faint tremor coming from the North. He stilled, then turned his head, watched the way the horizon occasionally lit up in bright orange.

“You are blind and ignorant to the truth of the world around you, stumble through your unfulfilled lives with nothing to believe in and nothing to hold onto. You may consider us violent and brutish, uncivilised and old-fashioned,“ the man mused, eyes stuck on the lights that, Hinata finally understood, were a mere hint of the violence that was Sakura-san fighting her own kage.

„But we are infinitely older and wiser, rich in tradition and culture, with a lineage so noble you ought to be in awe.“ He looked at them one last time, disdain and disgust on his face, as he regarded them like one would react to an insect stuck to the bottom of one's shoes.

„We were around long before you and we will be around long after you. Perhaps if you find something to have faith in, you may one day bask in the glory that is the world as it really is, not as it appears.“ With those parting words, he was gone, going against his own words and racing North. Silence fell over the clearing, only interrupted by Tsunade-sama barking orders at the ANBU around her as she stabilised Naruto-kun before readying him for transport.

Hinata bit her lip and raised her head to watch the horizon that, so very far away, lit up in flashes of orange and yellow, and closed her eyes, muttering a quiet prayer to the moon just like her grandmother had shown her when she was but a little girl. It wasn't much and she couldn't help but feel a little silly. And yet... she continued to sit on the grass, to watch the spectacle that happened miles and miles away, wondering if perhaps there was more to those fairytales she remembered from her early childhood than she'd originally thought.

“ _You_.” Her chest rose and fell heavily as she stood her ground, a mere few feet away from the amalgamation of timeless fury, unadulterated hatred, and sheer primal power that was Terumi Mei. She coughed once, still feeling the pressure of the unrelenting grip around her throat as she had been dragged away from her prey, deprived of her rightful kill, only to be thrown into the ground.

The red tinting her vision had faded, was gone the moment those sharp claws had closed themselves around her neck, pulled her from her haze suddenly and without warning. It reminded her of old times, of this girl's father, and it had taken all wind out of her sails. She'd been right, back when she had spoken to Isobu. There was none of her father's weakness in Mei. None of her father at all.

“ _You_! You are why she won't come back to me! Give her _back_!” She stopped and stilled, held her breath as she stared into Mei's black eyes, the twisted grimace her face had become, and with horror, she realised just what had happened to her. Of what was currently still happening to her. She raised her hands and took a step backwards, painfully aware of the chakra that thrashed around her person, the way the air distorted around her, just how close she was to losing herself. She'd never seen her lose control. Not even when she had killed her.

“ **I am flawed, Mei! Beyond repair or redemption. She was a child, alone,** _ **lost**_ **and so far from home and all I wanted was to make sure she could survive! I had no idea she was** _ **yours**_ **!** ” She was too old to panic, had died once before, and knew she had nothing to fear but faced with her like this, getting a taste of what she, deep down knew, was hiding within the both of them, made her want to run until she could no longer move.

“ _You STOLE her from me!_ ” Her voice was gone, changed into an unholy screech that made her cover her ears, as she used all her strength to try and stay upright, to not crumble under the pressure that bore down on her. She wasn't supposed to be here, not like this, and she knew it but she was caught, helpless, with nowhere to go. _It_ stirred in the depths of her mind and she scrambled closer and closer, hoped she could reach it before Mei would tear her apart.

“ **I am a part of her now, for better or worse. I didn't break the cycle!** _ **She**_ **is still there!** ” She stalked closer, arms spread out on each side, red hot lava dripping from her fingertips. It doused the surrounding darkness in a bright orange glow, tinted her grey face in soft yellows that did nothing to take away from the gruesome image that were the unmasked features of the Sea's most noble children. Her jaw had already slid out of position, revealing the gaping maw that was covered in countless sharp fangs, her eyes had shifted and angled downwards, her entire face had sharpened, red and blue pulsing underneath the transparent grey layer of scales that glimmered in countless shades of orange and red, reflecting the ambient light of her lava.

“She showed the signs and I foolishly assumed she was finding her way back to me when it's been _you_ all along!” She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes, diving inwards and delving into her own mind, going deeper and deeper, racing towards what slumbered beneath, praying she would get there before she would fall victim to Terumi's wrath because that couldn't happen, it _couldn't_ , it would ruin them _forever_.

“ **It used to be me! But not anymore, I can** _ **feel**_ **her and she** _ **is**_ **returning-** ” She punched through layers and layers, caring little for the consequences, ignoring the blinding agony that stabbed her head, delved further and further down-

“ _YAGURAAAAA_!” Power and chakra exploded all around her and then, mere moments before she would burn and melt, be consumed by the siren's fury, she found it. The darkness, the hollow, the depths and without thinking about it, she launched herself through the veil and drowned.

“ _Dance with me.” A small smile slid on her lips as she turned around, faced with the owner of a voice that was as familiar to her as breathing. She was magnificent, as always, yet she still marveled at the texture of her skin, the smoothness of her scales, the rich silk she was dressed in, and the golden jewelry that decorated her body._

_“Oh? I am but a simple priestess, Your Majesty.” She couldn't keep the levity out of her tone and felt her smile widen when the woman in front of her furrowed her brows in thinly veiled annoyance._

“ _Karatachi.” Oh, she sounded testy._

“ _Yes, Terumi?” Her smile morphed into a grin as the corners of her eyes crinkled and she tilted her head to the side._

“ _Dance with me.” There was a sense of urgency there and despite the music and laughter going on all around her, she remembered that their days were limited. Her smile dimmed a little and she took the hand that was being offered to her and allowed the older woman to guide her to the dance floor._

“ _As my queen demands,” she murmured softly, leaning into the embrace and gently brushing her fingertips along the woman's arms before the music changed and they began to dance, losing themselves in each other one last time._

She was roused from her sleep, only to find herself in a world of fire and flame. Orange and red twirled and twisted all around her and she felt the heat lick on her skin, so unbearably hot yet still cold enough for her, only for her, because this heat knows her and would never harm what belongs to it-

Through the curtain of molten earth, she saw a dark shadow that raced closer and closer. It was grey, red and blue, smelled of fire and water both, tasted like home and belonging, and the intensity of it pulled at her insides, dragged her ever upwards, closer to its source. Between one moment and the next, two black eyes were right in front of hers and she opened her mouth, stared and breathed:

“ _Terumi_.”

They crashed into each other, the impact sending a shockwave across the forest, uprooting trees and splitting the earth. She felt her on her skin, had her fingers in her hair, was one with her warmth, the water to her fire, the violence to her storm, the heart to her mind-

She caught her hands in her own, took the brunt of her fury, let it wash over her without coming to harm. Claws scratched her skin, fangs snapped at her neck, until finally, she let go.

Jumping backwards she drew upon the endless well that rested within her and brought the flood. It collided with those waves of pure lava, hissed and chirped upon impact, warred with a power that was just like hers, locked in a stalemate that devastated the land around them, tore it apart and reshaped it in their image.

Harsh winds whipped around her head as the air filled with smoke, burned her lungs, bringing her to life like nothing else could. She let herself fall, broke through the surface of her sea, and merged with it before rising high up towards the sky, soon followed by a raging orange ocean. Like giants, they surged towards each other, shook the ground whenever they met, their unbridled power unleashed for the first time in over a century.

Every time they made contact she felt her, felt her essence, her split soul that yearned to fuse with hers once more. She reached out whenever she was pushed back, danced back and forth, wrapped around each other only to crash and rise up again. Two heads, one of water, the other of lava snapped and bit at each other, buried their fangs in each other's necks, tore bits and pieces off each other to turn them into something else, leaving nothing but shimmering black glass in the wake of their combined violence.

“ _How many more times must we do this?” She stared up into the night sky, the bells and echoes of the festivities happening not far away from them, mere background noise. She felt, rather than heard her, had known she was close-by ever since she had left the gathering to seek some peace and quiet._

“ _Always and forever. It never ends.” She sighed quietly and closed her eyes, listening to the call of the waves. They were close to the shore, had settled down not far from their ancestral home and if she squinted just enough she could see the faint outline of the dead island in the distance._

“ _What if I want it to?” Uttering these words was heresy, came as close to sacrilege as she ever would. Still. The sentiment lingered in her heart, an unspoken truth she had carried around with her ever since the elders had spoken to her._

“ _You are the bastion of your faith, the cornerstone of your way of life. If you slip and lose hope, you will doom us.” A hand found its way on her shoulder and she leaned into the contact, brushed her smooth skin against soft scales._

“ _I will lose you. Now, the next time, over and over again. I cannot bear it,” she whispered, shared her burden with the only one who would never fail her. The hand pulled her closer, drew her into a loose embrace and she hid her face in the crook of the other's neck._

“ _No matter how many times you lose me, I will always come back to you.” Fingers buried themselves in her hair and gave it a gentle tug. She was met by eyes as dark and black as her own before closing them once their foreheads touched._

“ _Always.”_

She launched herself forwards with her arms in front of her body. She delved into the lava, let it sear her skin, searched, grabbed and pulled. Her hands closed around her essence and yanked at it until it reformed into its physical shell, changed from its liquid form into hands, arms, legs. With a hiss and a strained roar she forcefully dragged her from the depths of her power and launched her towards the ground.

The body impacted with an ear-splitting crash, shattered the planes of dark glass below them and sent countless splinters into the air. She wasted no time following, let the force of her flood burst and break apart the glass as she hurtled towards the other who was already on her feet, ready to meet her.

Claws grabbed her by her throat and arms, used her momentum to send her into the ground with enough strength to punch a crater into the earth. The hole filled with water and she twirled around, catching herself just in time to fist her hands into long auburn strands.

They shoved and punched each other, tore at their clothes and skin, snapped and raged as spires of water and lava battled each other high above their heads. Power charged the air, so thick and oppressive the few animals who hadn't burned, drowned or been encased in glass fell out of the air and suffocated, passing before they even hit the ground.

Life was drained from the land, grass turned to charcoal, air was sucked in only to explode and reduce the forest and wildlife to ash, creating a dead zone that consumed everything in its path and turned Konoha's woods into a sea of obsidian.

And in the center of it all were she and her, who were the same yet not, both as ancient as each other, overtaken by their violence, fuelled by their eagerness as they stood close, so close, to the edge of a cliff they longed to fall off of, as they always had, as they always would.

“ _It is time.” She didn't flinch, didn't still but felt the dread choke her all the same. Her eyes watered as she turned around, took in the quiet resignation, the steel, the conviction that burned bright within her very soul. Without uttering a word, she reached for her hand and stepped onto the water._

_Together, hand in hand, they crossed the ocean, both intimately aware of what brewed in the East, of the fires that were coming to claim their home one more time, of the phoenix whose wings would set their world alight._

_Bare feet met ash and lifeless grass, then damp stone as they entered the sanctum, wandered deeper and deeper beneath the surface. She didn't shiver as the temperatures dropped, held her head high as she marched towards her own destiny._

“ _I love you,” she whispered when they came to a stop in front of the deep giant pool surrounded by polished stone she hadn't laid eyes on in so long, reflecting the light of the crystals glittering above._

“ _It's not a goodbye. You know that,” the other muttered as she let go of her hand and remained behind. She took one step after another, hands shivering, breath shallow. When her feet made contact with the water she turned around one last time, saw her stand tall and proud with her blades in her hands, ready to greet death like the old friend it was._

“ _Terumi...” she sniffled, unable to stop the tears that ran down her cheeks. The woman turned her head, an easy smile on her lips as the flames that came rushing down set her fiery hair aglow._

“ _Until we meet again, Karatachi-chan.”_

_She took a step backward, and when the fires consumed the other, let herself fall into the pool, arms wide open and eyes shut, surrendering herself to the sea to be swallowed once more._

When she came back to herself she laid on her back on top of wet glass, harsh breaths disturbing the silence. Wet strands of hair tickled her skin and when she opened her eyes, found her face right above hers. There was barely any space between them as they shared the air, inhaled each other, close yet still not close enough.

She raised her hands and dug her fingers into the skin of her neck, pulled her further down until their foreheads touched and their lips brushed against each other. All noise had ceased as the storm died down, leaving behind little more than the beat of their hearts.

Eventually, her arms gave in and she collapsed on top of her. Cold, slick skin rubbed against hers as she rolled to the side, slung her arms around her waist, tangled their legs, and pressed her face against her collarbone. The presence she felt in her bones began to fade, retreated back to where it had come from.

“When?” the other asked, tired and spent, exhausted and weak. She blinked twice, slid her fingers along cool scales, a mere whisper of a touch.

“Soon,” her mouth replied, lips curling around the words as strong arms pulled her closer until they were just close enough. Her breath evened out as her heart calmed down and she stopped fighting the darkness that had come to claim her.

In the middle of the destruction they had left behind, on top of the waves and towers of obsidian that stretched further than the eye could see, she fell asleep with little more than a hum keeping her company.

A giant mirror towered above her, smooth and clear without a single crack. She stared into it, took in the green and teal of her skin, the webbing on her neck, arms and ears, the fins that trailed down her arms, the hint of scales decorating her body in a beautiful pattern. She stared until the image shifted, moving on its own accord, and looking at her with a gentle smile on its face.

“ _Hello, Ssssakura._ ” She drew a single shaky breath and reached out to touch the glass, fingertips moving over her cheeks and chin.

“Who are you?” she asked. The reflection blinked once and tilted her head to the side as the smile widened.

“ _I am your passsst, your presssent and your future._ ” The reflection blurred and changed chape, morphed into something dark and massive, something with a tail that was too long for the mirror to fully capture, long tattered fins in various shades of green and blue, and two heads that met her gaze with four black eyes just like her own.

“ _I am the two-headed fury of the ocean, the one that hidesss in the dark, the eater of worldssss._ ” The image shifted and came closer until she could see it in all its glory. It was covered in scales and fins that swayed in the water, green, blue and teal, grey and mighty, beautiful and mesmerising, _the deep sea serpent_.

“ _I am the leviathan._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes Act II. This is probably a good time to mention that I personally, am not religious and do not believe in anything. I enjoy the idea of paganism and old myths but am not pushing an agenda with this fic. Since the people of Kiri are somewhat extremist in their beliefs (as are the other villages that follow the Old Ways) they paint a harsh contrast to Konoha which has abandoned its religion.
> 
> Now a small note concerning Hinata. It's not something that will be explored in the story but the idea is that the Hyuuga have a long history of worshipping Kaguya, the one they believe to represent the moon. She was a minor power centuries ago, never evolved beyond that since the Hyuuga are but a small clan. With Konoha giving up on its faith they too abandoned their practises which turned into little more than fairytales and bedtime stories.  
> Still, it is something that still lingers in their blood. The moon itself is an aspect of Kiri (since it brings the tides and is closely connected to the sea) and well... Hinata's crush on Sakura is a little more natural than she realises.
> 
> Last but not least, in this universe, Hashirama and Madara never fought each other (as is explored in Old Konoha's oneshot) and thus the Valley of the End was never created. Coincidentally, it is roughly the location of Sakura's and Mei's battle that turned an entire stretch of forest and land to obsidian, creating what will be referred to as the Obsidian Wastes.
> 
> EDIT: One day I will stop wasting time on writing folk songs/nursery rhymes for this fic but I strongly suspect I will put myself through this hell one more time.
> 
> EDIT 2: Still platonic. It's not shippy. I swear.


	17. Act III: Divinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter that was long overdue. Setting the stage for the final act.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very heavy chapter - but a necessary one.
> 
> @raell: Thank you! Not sure I deserve this high praise but I'm glad you enjoy my super obscure “what even is this because it's not Naruto” fic. It's my baby. That's all I can say in my defense.  
> @loganliet: Aww, I'm happy to hear you were so excited about the update and that it helped reduce the stress a little. As for Hinata, well, this chapter should make the nature of her infatuation with Sakura a little clearer. Hopefully.  
> @zemblenity: Thank you! Yeah, well, Naruto and Sasuke never minded their own business ever. In their defense, they really did think what they were doing was what was best for the village. Misguided sure, but not malicious. And Junji... yeah. It was meant to be dramatic but he really did steal the show. -.-' And hey, thanks for the positivity. Out of all my fics this is by far the hardest to write and I'm unhappy with most of it because I constantly feel like I should do better. So I'm glad you still like it.  
> @Meowler: Aaah, I'm sorry you're not into descriptions. I really do go heavy with those. Can't help it haha, I enjoy them and feel like they're important for the fic in general. But what do I know, I'm just a fanfiction author. :D Anyway, glad you like it. :)  
> @Nuerotell: They tried to be helpful. Bad idea in hindsight but it's the intent that counts... probably.  
> @shadows_haunt_angels: Thank you! Good to hear you like my lore. I'm kind of chimping out with it sometimes but it's a pretty lore heavy fic so there's that. Thanks for the kind words. :)  
> @Melilove999: Your English is fine, don't worry. It's not my first language either and I somehow, kind of, make do. And thank you. :) I'm happy you enjoy my fic. It's quite personal in the sense that it's everything I like/want to read so knowing others like it as well feels extra special.

“...the leviathan?” Sakura gazed upon the sheer magnificence of the being that stared back at her, trapped behind the glass. A single one of its eyes was easily five times the size of her entire body. The mirror itself had shifted and expanded, enveloped the entirety of the dark empty void she found herself in. She swallowed once and didn't dare move as the primordial being loomed above her. Sakura had never doubted Mei as she told her of the history of their people, or even the power and mysticism that was part of their legacy. But to be faced with it, the guardian of the sea itself, the be-all and end-all of everything that made them...

“ _Not all isss asss it isss meant to be_ ,” the projection rumbled, its voice a low hiss that sank deep beneath her bones and urged her to step closer. Sakura heeded its call and approached until she was just shy of touching the glass. She could no longer look at it, was faced with nothing but the infinite black expanse of its leftmost eye.

“ _Your mortal shell isss meant to houssse a sssingle sssoul. You however are forever dessstined to carry a mere half. But there isss more within you. Sssomething old and young, a remnant that wasss meant to passs on._ ” A single spark flared to life, chased away the blackness. It grew and grew until the eye that was meant to be dark and empty, had gained a pupil. The colour of it was achingly familiar and Sakura gulped when she saw a perfect imitation of her sun resting in the serpent's eye socket.

“ _I have waited for him. But hisss time came and yet hisss sssoul eluded my grasssp._ ” The sun shrunk once more, its surroundings expanding and filling out with different colours. Something pale, the shade of skin, then a mossy green, a dark wheaty yellow. Between one blink and the next, it had changed shape into a person. A young male, small, delicate, with blonde hair and magenta eyes.

Sakura couldn't control her body as it reached out, palms resting against the glass. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears as overwhelming feelings of both loss and longing rose up within her. She had seen his picture. Only once. But this... this was nothing like that. His hair swayed in a breeze that had no origin, his face was relaxed, his body calm. He stared right back at her and then, Sakura almost missed it, he smiled.

“ _Hisss intentionsss were good but he wasss misssguided. He almossst risssked the collapssse of the cycle._ ” A strong gust of wind shattered the image and carried away its fragments. Sakura curled her hands into fists, claws scratching the glass and closed her eyes, forcing all those feelings of loneliness and dejection into a room and locked the door behind her. She had never gotten to meet him, yet missed him all her life.

“ _He isss part of you now. It isss not within my power to sssseperate you._ ” Taking a deep breath, Sakura closed her eyes and bowed her head. She wasn't shaken by the knowledge she had just gained. She wasn't even surprised. Something about this place, something about her company, made her feel like a different person. There was no fear anymore, no grief. Nothing but quiet awe, age-old respect and unconditional reverence.

“ _Sssshe isss aware of him. And ssshe never liked sssharing._ ” An image of Mei appeared in the leviathan's pupil, a projection the likes of which Sakura had never seen before yet was more familiar with than even her own face. The only remnant of the woman she had met almost a year ago was the deep auburn of her hair that shimmered and gleamed like the lava that ran through her veins. Everything else...

“ _It isss almossst time. It isss within her resssponsssibility to make sssure you are once more who you were alwaysss meant to be._ ” Sakura watched, transfixed, as fine strands of hair floated around Mei's head. She took in the fangs that peeked through softly parted lips, the long claws that had replaced her nails, the splendour and ancient elegance that was built into her sharp and sleek features. There she was, the one that brought the tides, the light to her shadow, the other half of her whole, and Sakura felt her heart _burst_.

“ _Dull and dark you may be but the ssspark isss within you. You are waking from your ssslumber, piece by piece. Ssshe wasss never patient. Ssshe isss tired of waiting._ ” A second image manifested in front of Mei, wrapped in shadows, and the only hint of what, or rather who, it was meant to represent were long threads of pink trailing behind it as it approached the other woman.

“ _Though each of you carriesss my esssence, were remade in my image, I cannot reach her. You are my voice. You are my will._ ” The two projections met and faded into each other, merged into something else that blinked out of existence before it could fully take shape. Sakura lingered for a mere moment, hands pressed against the glass, naked and cold and wet, _and so very alone_ -

“ _Tell her thisss, oracle. Tell her the sssea isss ready to rissse once more._ ” Her breath hitched when she was pulled backwards by an unknown force. Out of nowhere, water nipped at her soles and steadily climbed upwards, eager to consume her in her entirety. As if a fog was being lifted, the unnatural calm and ease that had suppressed every other emotion receded. Without warning, Sakura's sense of self snapped back into place and with it, brought the confusion, the questions, the utter desperation-  
“Wait. WAIT!” she yelled as she was dragged downwards, underneath the surface. She flailed her arms and legs, tried to fight the current, but her efforts were fruitless. Just before the water entered her nose and lungs, lulling her to sleep once more, she watched the mirror darken and glaze over, taking the image of the leviathan with it until it seemed like it had never existed in the first place. Still, as her eyes fell shut and she drifted in the sea, she dreamt of shimmering scales, four black eyes, and a city going up in flames.

Waking up felt different. She was warm and calm, enveloped by a sense of peace and fulfillment she couldn't name even if she tried. Like resting on a nest of clouds or floating in the night sky or perhaps even resting at the bottom of the sea, surrounded by marine life and a darkness that spelled home to her. She was disconnected from her body, little more than a tiny spark of consciousness wrapped up in soft threads of red and blue, bliss and serenity all in one, one part of a whole.

Just then something brushed against her, another presence that was so hot it burned her from the inside out, then immediately cooled her down once more, an endless rhythm that ran on the same heartbeat. It whispered to her, drew her closer and closer like a gentle tug. She allowed it to lead her, the instinctive desire to do as it asked stronger than any force in the universe.

“...tachi.” The murmur drifted through the void towards her, caressing her, and sinking down and down to where she was anchoured within herself. It reached out and the contact sent a jolt through her formless self, built strings that moved on their own accord, coiled themselves around the bits and pieces that made her and pulled them closer, gradually fitting her fragments together.

With each piece that tied itself to her core the clouds lost some of their softness, the darkness gave way for light, she fell a little further from the sky. It was pleasant in a way so few things were, above all else so natural that she gladly gave in, voluntarily came down from her high, let go of the dreams and wishes that had latched onto her.

As the fog gave way for clarity, she sank into her body, adjusted to the shell that housed her essence, and filled it up. Feeling and sensation returned and she became aware of the soft cushions she rested on, the warmth all around her, and the _touch_.

Two arms were wrapped around her waist, hands brushing the skin of her back and pressing her against a second body. Their legs were tangled and they were so close there was no space between them, nothing but bare skin and scales, soft curves, and cool flesh that was warmed by the burning heat emanating from the one who held her to her chest.

She felt no desire to move or open her eyes, do anything other than shift even closer and sling her arms around the body to bask in the source of warmth that smelled of salt and molten earth, reminded her of blazing embers lighting up the night sky. She buried her face in the crook of a neck, breathed in the smell, let it enter her very being to stay and never leave again.

“Good morning.” The voice was like honey, rich and low and sweet and oh, it felt like a hundred years since she had last heard the sound. A low rumble escaped her throat and she parted her lips, dragging her own sharp fangs against the vulnerable softness of the neck. She lingered for a moment, stilled, then tilted her head backwards and opened her eyes.

There she was, in all her glory, just like she remembered her. Her scales were just as pretty as they always had been, her eyes large and beautiful, her face a complex contrasting study of elegance and sharpness that blended together so well she could hardly describe it. She was a vision, always had been, Terumi...

“Mei.” She blinked and all at once, within a single moment, some of the colour that oversaturated the image in front of her faded. She blinked once more, then looked down and became aware of their state of undress, their proximity, the darkness all around them. When she found Mei's face again, she just barely caught a flash of dejection before it was gone and replaced by something else.

“I'm... sorry.” The words spilled from her, Sakura's, lips without intent or consent. She frowned briefly, unsure why she had uttered them, or what she was apologising for.

“What for?” Mei asked, hushed, and mellow in a way Sakura had never heard her speak before. It felt both wrong and not. Out of character but not really and she really wished she could find a way to put this odd state of mind she found herself in, into words. Like everything was both right and wrong, left and right, two images right on top of each other and so blurry that she couldn't see either of them clearly.

“I don't know,” Sakura admitted quietly and averted her eyes. She had done _something_ wrong, even if she couldn't quite remember what it was. She had failed Mei in one way or another, knew this deep in her heart, and it hurt her in her soul so profoundly it made it hard to breathe. Long bony fingers gently grasped either side of her face and forced Sakura to look at the older woman whose eyes sparked with affection and, for some reason, grief.

“You have nothing to apologise for,” Mei stated slowly yet with an undercurrent of quiet reassurance. She was insistent, and her words sounded to Sakura like a promise. A promise that she'd been absolved of her failings, forgiven for a sin she couldn't quite recall. Still. It soothed her, caused the jittering ripples that shook her insides to even out.

“Why are we here?” she then asked, feeling more like herself with each moment that passed. Sakura's memory was largely absent, a blot of ink covering whatever it was that had led her here. Rationally, she knew that something must have happened, something drastic, but she was content to wait and listen. She had no desire whatsoever to separate from Mei. The older woman sighed, and cupped the back of Sakura's neck, drawing her closer and resting her chin on the crown of her head.

“You are... different,” she said and from the tone of her voice, Sakura could tell that she wanted to say more, had cut herself off mid-sentence. She wanted to ask but chose not to.

“Souls are... complicated. Especially in our culture, in our families. Sometimes, things happen that we have no explanation for, that even faith and power don't quite cover. Anomalies.” Mei paused, and Sakura held her breath.

“Back when you told me about occasionally experiencing feelings that seem like they're not entirely yours, or suddenly knowing jutsu you never studied before, I waved away your concerns. With the two of us, you more so than me, that is well within what is expected. I thought nothing of it then.” Sakura closed her eyes, trying to fight the doubt that crept along the edge of her awareness.

“And now?” she asked, not sure she even wanted to answer.

“Now I know better.” Hands combed through her hair, played with the strands, mindlessly braided them in painfully familiar patterns.

“I once told you that you remind me of him. It was distracting, occasionally, and I worried that something, somewhere along the way, had gone wrong. You and I, we can't afford to be changed, altered, even in the most subtle of ways. The consequences would be disastrous.” Sakura knew this, too. She had no idea what the consequences were or how the thought entered her mind, but deep down, she was fully aware that if anything were to interfere with either Mei or Sakura, there would be no future for their people.

“Our bodies provide more space than half a soul can fill. You were empty enough a vessel that, by sheer coincidence, you accepted someone else's.” Sakura saw green, blonde and magenta, and _knew_.

“He's my sun,” she murmured and tried to reach for it, feel its presence, only to find nothing at all.

“The Uchiha used his doujutsu to send the sanbi to sleep. The flashback, the memory, the entire situation... Yagura was thrust back into his worst nightmare. Except this time, he had a body. This time, he could fight back.” Mei had to say no more than that. Sakura couldn't remember, not really, but she heard the rush of water, screams, the _rage_. He had been furious, but more than that, terrified.

“The kyuubi container tried to defend his friend and nearly died for it. He's still comatose. The Uchiha is shaken, but unharmed. The Hyuuga... was spared. She wore your shawl. It pierced through his haze, gave him just enough clarity to toss her aside instead of going through her.” Sakura exhaled shakily, relieved beyond words while also desperately trying not to give in to the panic looming above her. She knew he was there, right underneath her skin, waiting and watching. An enternal presence that had always been there, fed her rage during some moments, aided her in the only way it knew how during others.

A presence that had taken the reins when she herself couldn't and stopped a man that would have killed her otherwise. At last, Sakura understood how she had survived Hoshigaki Kisame. The taste it left in her mouth wasn't as bitter as she had expected.

“I grabbed him and ran. He was there and you were gone. I was racing against my own loss of control.” At that, Sakura huddled a little closer, seeking comfort while offering some of her own. Mei being faced with the man that had slaughtered their people, her family, had seemingly taken over Sakura's body...

“He confessed then. That it had been an accident, ensured me you were still there and that he had not inadvertently doomed all of us. I listened but he couldn't reach me. I was too far gone.” Memories of orange and black filled Sakura's mind, of power so thick and vast it devastated an entire stretch of forest.

“He retreated. The sanbi was still asleep, you still trapped in the Uchiha's prison. All that remained, was your very core, your essence, the purest version of yourself. I...” Mei stuttered and stopped. Her heartbeat increased and her breath went ragged. Sakura bumped her forehead against her neck, and Mei's claws dug into her back.

“It was glorious. You... were glorious.” A hushed whisper, just barely loud enough to be heard. Such reverence swung in Mei's voice, awe and desperation, a mixture so foreign to the woman that Sakura found she hated the sound.

“We exhausted each other. Yuki found and brought us back to the village. That was nine days ago. We've been asleep ever since.” Finally, Sakura untangled herself from Mei and shuffled backwards, creating just enough distance to be able to properly look at the older woman. She seemed tired though, not exhausted, like she hadn't slept well rather than suffering from chakra exhaustion. However, that wasn't Sakura's biggest concern.

“I see you,” she stated, only too happy to momentarily move on from the fact that her dead grandfather's soul had fused with hers, anchouring his self within her own, become an irreversible part of her. She couldn't afford to focus on this. Not now.

“Your eyesight is exceptional,” Mei replied, causing Sakura to frown at her.

“Mei. I _see_ you. Your eyes, your scales, the fins, I see... you.” She paused and bit her lip, eyes exploring every square and inch of the woman she shared her soul with. Somehow, the sight was no novelty. She'd seen it all before yet the first time still always felt special.

“What are you?” Mei blinked, smooth scaled lids momentarily hiding almost disproportionally black eyes from sight. A few strands of hair fell in front of her face, had gotten tangled with the long coiled fins that were attached to her elbows, shoulders and neck.

“My ancestors were merfolk. Sirens, as they are commonly called. The rulers of the sea, the court beneath the tides. Ours was the first population that mixed with the land dwellers and the matriarch's firstborn founded our city, became its reigning monarch. Queen Terumi.” Sakura laid still and silent as she listened to Mei, looked at her, and didn't even flinch when in front of her mind's eye, she changed until her legs had fused, turned into a long and sleek fishtail with ruffled fins lining the sides that fanned out close to the tip. A coronet crafted from gold, silver and sapphires rested on top of her head with similar jewelry decorating her arms, neck and wrists. Sakura could not look away.

“It took a few decades for our people to extend an invitation to the other higher beings of the sea, long before common animals were even considered. Your kind was the second that settled above the surface.” It was then that Sakura thought to inspect herself only to gasp softly upon being met by the teal of her clawed fingers. Hers were longer and sharper than Mei's whose fingers were bony, and long, tipped with sharp but not quite as long claws. Sakura's were easily double the length. She also had far fewer scales, a mere dusting along her knuckles, and in comparison, her fins were shorter and smoother, jagged rather than coiled.

“If you see me, you will also see yourself. Come.” Sakura took the hand that was being offered to her without question and followed Mei to the bathroom. Neither of them turned on the lights, didn't need to. Sakura took a deep breath, then stepped in front of the mirror.

“Your people were solitary and secluded. Those closest to the leviathan, rumoured to be its children, zealots and priests, defenders of the darkest corners of the ocean. You stood for strength and faith, the underwater serpents. The Naga.” Sakura's hands shook as she touched her own face, felt the sharp hills of her eyebrows, her jutted cheekbones, her knife-like ears and the smooth bony growth on top of her forehead. Her skin was the same greenish teal she'd seen many times before, decorated with a pattern composed of scales and webbing that covered most of her shoulders and upper arms.

“Your ancestor was an outcast, abandoned along with her baby sister. She sought refuge on the land, surrendered to the rituals of my people and let them turn her into a creature that would be able to live on the surface. She joined the order, became a priestess and chose a new name. Karatachi.” Mei's hand briefly brushed against Sakura's and when it did, she saw herself floating underwater, her hair like a halo around her head, legs gone and replaced by the lower body of a serpent with gleaming scales, a soft underbelly and a single row of razor-sharp fins running down the length of her tail.

“Faith was weak back then, the leviathan too far away to hear our prayers. We were scorned for abandoning our natural home. We were ignored and left to fend for ourselves. Our civilisation nearly crumbled. Until, one day, Karatachi went to the shore and made an offering that was not spurned. The leviathan spoke to her, and she in turn told us what needed to be done to regain its favour. She became the voice of the sea and soon, the oracle of the order.” The older woman withdrew her hand, taking the image with her. Sakura moved her palms down her hips and legs and couldn't help but think they felt... wrong.

“The fall wiped us all out. Terumi and Karatachi took the phoenix with them, but by then the city was already rubble and ash. They were claimed by the leviathan and only their children, one daughter each, managed to escape and wander south to where those of lesser birth had established a small village to live free of the class system that forced them to be little more than servants and foot soldiers.” Sakura recalled their journey across the ocean and the song Mei had sung in the middle of the night. Before she even realised it, she was humming along to the memory.

“Why have you never told me this?” she murmured once she was done, still fascinated by her mirror image and the way they stood side by side, so familiar and yet so foreign.

“When I first came to Kiri you told me nothing of our history, our traditions. You lied to me about the origin of our clans and the madness,” Sakura continued. She didn't raise her voice, felt no anger or disappointment. There was no room for either in her heart right now that, for once, was so full and sated that nothing else could rattle her. Mei released a weary sigh and gently shook her head, one hand resting on Sakura's shoulder while playing with her hair.

“You weren't ready. Konoha sat in your bones and there was no space in your head for ancient tales of power and faith. You were so... different from what I expected. I thought you were lost to me, at first. Konoha changed you to the point where it took me months until I looked at you and saw the other half of me.” The answer both explained it all while also revealing nothing at all. Mei had never kept her at arm's length, not really, had actually drawn her closer and closer as time passed and they settled into their routine. Until it all changed, the day Sakura cried over Yagura and everything she had lost without ever getting to experience it. She remembered a single sentence Mei had spoken, the exact words she couldn't recall, that had sent a jolt through her body and brought a spark to Mei's eyes. In hindsight, that was the day that had shifted the balance between them. From that day forward, they had moved closer and closer to one another, until they had lost any and all desire to ever separate again.

“Your father and... Yagura... were they like this too? As close as we are?” Sakura caught the way Mei wavered, opened her mouth but didn't speak up. She knew the expression she wore on her face, one she had seen in the mirror many times before. There was a conflict of interest, as she was warring with herself. Sakura reached for her hand, intertwined their fingers, and waited.

“No,” Mei finally replied, momentarily fragile beyond compare as she stared at Sakura as one might consider a lover. The sharpness of her face receded, smoothed, turned into a flawless expanse of grey, red and blue.

“No two people in the history of our clans have ever been as tightly bound to one another as you and I.” This right here meant something. It meant so much Sakura almost forgot to breathe even though she had no reason to. Her claws scraped against Mei's as she squeezed her hand without planning to do so. For that second, her body was not her own – and what should terrify Sakura calmed her instead.

“Are... we...” She interrupted herself and averted her eyes. Mei's hand threatened to burn her or perhaps it was just her own.

“Yes?” Sakura bit the inside of her cheek and, as she stared at the ground, continued:

“We slept in the same bed. Without clothes. I... feel off when I'm without you and simply being in your presence turns the world on its axis, rights every wrong. I...” She tried to withdraw her hand, but Mei's grip was hard like iron and her efforts were fruitless.

“I never thought about those matters before. It always seemed like the kind of thing that's for others, and not for me. But...” A digit dug itself into the underside of Sakura's chin and forced her to turn her head until she was met by eyes that were identical to her own. Mei seemed oddly empty, bordering on wistful as she asked:

“Do you love me?” Sakura was caught in the image she presented, the nigh otherworldly beauty of the woman before her, and felt her heart reach out.

“Yes.” There was no doubt in her mind, no hesitation. Sakura loved her people and her country, but not even all the patriotism in the world could ever hope to match that indescribable intensity that filled her veins whenever she so much as looked at Mei. The woman chuckled, followed by a barely noticeable shake of her head.

“I meant if you're sexually attracted to me.” Sakura blinked twice, mind drawing a blank. She carefully looked Mei up and down, took note of her curves, the shape of her body, her delicate build that hid strong muscle, her full chest, the triangle between her legs. After a while, she returned to her face and parted her lips to reply. No sound left her mouth.

“I... don't know. I never experienced it so... I can't tell.” Mei didn't reply, merely gazed upon her, almost as if she was waiting for something. Sakura went back and forth in her thought process, tried to remember an instance where she had been around both men and women, tried to find a memory that even remotely fit the criteria she was looking for. She considered her parents, how they had acted around one another, the kisses they had shared, few in number yet rich in meaning. Perhaps...? Refocusing her attention on Mei, Sakura tilted her head and said:

“Can I kiss you?” A small part of her expected to be rejected. She wouldn't have minded, after all they were... Sakura wasn't entirely sure what they were but her request certainly crossed the kinds of boundaries people tended to have. Mei, however, merely smiled and beckoned her closer.

Sakura hesitated briefly before taking a step towards her, entering her personal space, allowing her skin to brush against Mei's. The woman's hands settled on her shoulder, moved upwards and cradled Sakura's neck as her thumbs pressed into her chin, tilting her head backwards. Their faces were so close Sakura could see every single one of Mei's lashes, the tiny and intricate pattern around her eyes, the slight furrow the split her bottom lip in two.

She held her gaze as Mei slowly brought their heads together, forehead against forehead, nose rubbing against nose. Her every breath tickled Sakura's skin as her fingers curled around pink strands of hair and in a sudden moment of clarity, Sakura crossed the remaining distance and kissed her.

The world around her fell apart, turned to splinters that rebuilt her surroundings. A cold spray of water hit her face as wild winds whipped her hair around and the darkness of their room was replaced by a starry night sky, illuminated by a gigantic full moon right above her head. Her eyes fell shut as this scene, too, shattered and changed. It happened again and again, went from a shore to a ballroom to a forest clearing, ruins, a village square, a foyer, a rock in the middle of the ocean. Sakura lost count eventually, drowned in the whirlwind of colour that made her universe spin, never stopping, going on and on and on-

Until Mei broke the kiss, severed their connection, brought calm and order and the familiar environment that gradually bled back into focus. Sakura blinked rapidly and shook her head to try and rid herself of those lingering impressions that felt little like hallucinations or figments of her imagination and more, so much more like-

“And? What do you say?” the older woman whispered, thumb brushing the skin of her cheek, holding her close. Sakura's throat was dry and no words came to her, so she looked at the floor, trying to come to a conclusion. Feeling much more like herself, no longer overwhelmed by whatever it was that had taken hold of her, Sakura considered the softness of the kiss, the smooth silky texture of Mei's lips, the warmth they had shared.

“It was... nice. But-” She trailed off, unable to put her thoughts into words. It had seemed... off. Like there was a blockage in her chest, a heavy sense of going down the wrong road, of a path not meant to be taken. And if she truly considered the possibility, Sakura found she didn't even want to. Being near her was all she needed. She felt no desire to kiss her again or share more touches that went beyond what they already shared. Something like that... was for other people. Not for her. Not for Mei.

“-not quite right?” Mei finished for her. Sakura's head snapped upwards, meeting Mei's eyes.

“How did you know I felt that way?” she asked, searching for anything that would give her even a hint of the truth the other one still kept from her. Her face gave away nothing, the small smile both empty and telling in ways Sakura failed to understand. Mei leaned closer, the very image of a woman sharing a particularly tantalising secret, and murmured:

“Because you always do.” Sakura frowned, about to ask her to elaborate on that cryptic statement but Mei had already stepped away and left the bathroom, taking all her secrets and mysteries with her. Sakura lingered for a second, fought with the urge to storm after her and demand she give her the answers Sakura so craved. As quickly as the impulse had come, it faded away, leaving behind an eerie sense of calm.

It didn't truly matter, did it? Mei would deny her anyway and there was nothing she could do about it. Oddly enough, accepting this was much easier than Sakura expected. While she felt less like herself with every day that passed, the comfort and serenity that had taken root inside her mind and heart were hard to reject. And, perhaps, they were meant to be there. Perhaps they had been meant to be there all along.

(Perhaps she wasn't losing herself but slowly regaining everything that had been lost.)

Shaking her head, Sakura left the bathroom. It was easier now to let go of those weird impulses or thoughts that occasionally disrupted her own. Whereas once they had confused and unsettled her, nowadays they simply entered her head, lingered, and eventually faded away. Most times Sakura couldn't even remember them.

Mei had already returned to bed, rested on the blankets with her legs crossed and hands folded on top of her stomach. She didn't acknowledge Sakura as the latter laid down on the mattress, close enough to feel the heat emanating from the older woman on her skin without actually touching her. She rolled onto her side before curling up into a ball, eyes half-lidded and stuck on Mei. Now that Sakura was here, she felt the tiredness and exhaustion come back to claim her once more.

“Yuki reported to me while you were still asleep. The Senju wants your head.” Sakura froze. Her breath stilled and she lingered for half a second. Then, before she even realised what she was doing, her body twitched and only Mei's lightning reflexes kept her from jumping off the bed in order to grab her blades. Black eyes met hers as strong fingers slowly released the hold on Sakura's wrist.

“I told Yuki to inform her that I would trade yours for the Uchiha's.” The expected outrage or venom didn't come. Instead, the impulse was squashed almost immediately and Sakura felt her breath even out and the tension leave her body. Konoha would not give up the last remaining Sharingan much like Kiri would not give up the Karatachi. And that was before Mei would ever, _ever_ , let Sakura go.

“You lost yourself. I don't blame you. Learning of the kyuubi container's heritage was... an exercise in control,” Mei admitted with a shaky breath, briefly shutting her eyes. Sakura gulped, recalling the kind of rage that had flooded her, a wrath words could not describe. She refused to think of the name.

“But using the Sharingan on you was an act of war. I could very well make the call. The only reason I don't is that there are more fearsome threats to fight.” Fire, smoke, ash and cinders. Foul and vile, nothing at all like the current of embers that laid next to her.

“I will talk to her tomorrow. You're restricted to these accommodations and an ANBU patrol of eight is watching the building at all times. You will join me to observe the third exam in two days and then we're going home. We won't stay for the closing feast.” Releasing a sigh, Sakura rolled on her back, right hand finding Mei's and entangling their fingers.

“I'm sorry,” she said and meant it. Not because she had reacted the way she did. Not because she had fallen into her rage. Deep down she knew she was still wrong, still missing something so elusive she couldn't grasp it. Though she hid it well, Mei carried a burden on her shoulders that was meant to be shared with Sakura.

“Don't be. Such simply is the way of things. I can't change it. Neither can you. I merely... tire of it sometimes. It's not easy. Nothing is.” Indeed. Mei squeezed Sakura's hand and pulled it a little closer so it rested on the space between them.

“Every life is different. Circumstances make us who we are but they can't change what lies beneath. The deeper down you go, the more I follow.” Sakura listened, unable to understand what Mei was speaking about yet lacking the need to question it. This wasn't about her.

“It is exhilarating. Like a rush of energy and anticipation, power and glory so thick and vast I drown in it.” The Terumi paused and dug her claws into the soft skin of Sakura's palm.

“I cannot, can never, be myself as long as you have forgotten who you used to be.”

' _She's tied to you, tangled up in your castle of wires with no hope of ever escaping. Wherever you go, she will have no choice but to follow.'_ Isobu had told her this what seemed to be a lifetime ago. She had not understood then. Still mostly didn't. Yet while the exact meaning eluded Sakura, she gradually began to realise just how true those words rang.

“One day soon, we will be complete and the days we will spend in absolute harmony are so perfect they shall carry us through the dark and beyond.” Mei turned her head to the side and the look on her face nearly took Sakura's breath away. It was a promise. An ancient promise that, before the end, they would know excellence and unity.

“Okay.” Sakura held Mei's gaze and returned the squeeze.

“Okay?” She nodded, feeling a faint echo of the woman's heartbeat in her fingertips.

“Yeah. I trust you.” Silence settled over them like a soft blanket and Sakura basked in Mei's warmth, the way their hands were joined and the utter tranquility of the night. The moon shone through one of the windows, stopping just shy of the edge of the bed, dousing the room in a soft pale glow. Eventually, Sakura closed her eyes and let herself drift, unconcerned with what tomorrow would bring. She had faith in Mei, now more so than ever before. She would shelter her, always, be the shield between her and the rest of the world. It was, after all, her duty.

“Rest, my dear. I will be here when you wake up.”

She fell asleep with peace in her heart, Mei's hand in hers, and a sense of deep, unshakeable faith that everything was going to be the way it was meant to.

As it always had.

As it always would.

She shouldn't be here. Wringing her hands, Hinata closed her eyes in an effort to calm herself. Her father would disapprove. Neji would scold her. Her entire family, the entirety of the Hyuuga clan, would certainly judge silently and be reinforced in their opinion that she was unfit as heiress, that Hanabi would make for a better future. No one was allowed to be here. No one but the few branch house members that tended to the Hyuuga matriarch.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to the panel the separated her from what waited ahead. Hinata's fingers twitched when she slid the beautifully ornamented door to the side. The room itself was dark, illuminated by a few candles that danced in the breeze caused by her entry. Gulping quietly, Hinata took a careful step inside and closed the door behind her.

“H... hello?” No answer. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and soon Hinata realised that the room was empty. Furniture and decorations aside there was nothing else here. Certainly not the person she'd been looking for. She was just about to turn around and leave, sneak back into her own bedroom when a gentle breeze caressed her cheeks.

With a frown she took a step forwards, positioning herself in the middle of the room. There should be no breeze here. And the matriarch was known to never leave her sanctuary. Worry rose up within her and so she took a careful look at her surroundings. Their family was widely known, their eyes valuable and rare. Hinata herself would know this better than anyone else.

Moments away from activating her byakugan, she spotted it. The barely visible crack in the wall on the far side of the room. Hinata wasted no time and moved closer before bowing down to inspect said crack. This was where the air came from. It was thin, went from the ground all the way to the ceiling and after sliding her fingers into the narrow space and pushing it to the side, Hinata noticed the crack for what it was.

A hidden door and really, she should have known. The Hyuuga compound was littered with those, had been ever since the incident that had nearly seen her kidnapped by Kumo shinobi. Shivering slightly when her skin was met by the cold night air, she entered the small garden that was attached to this side of the compound.

“Do your elders know you are here, child?” Hinata flinched violently at the sudden voice and almost tripped. There she was, a few feet in front of her, kneeling on the grass in front of a small pond that reflected the bright moonlight. Her silver long hair trailed on the ground, almost like a halo surrounding her body, blending in with the pristine white of her garments.

“N... No, Hiroyo-sama.” The Hyuuga elder didn't look at Hinata as she gestured at her to come closer. Rubbing her sweaty palms against the cloth of her jacket, she approached.

“Kneel.” Doing as she was told, she joined the matriarch, eyes never leaving the undisturbed surface in front of her. Not a single ripple disturbed the pond's almost calming stillness and while Hinata found it odd, she didn't question it. The flawless reflection of the moon, a clean white orb on black water, was almost... mesmerising.

“Why have you come to see me? You young ones rarely do.” Clutching the hem of her shirt so her hands couldn't shake, Hinata wet her lips and spoke:

“W- When I was young, y- you told me stories and legends about t- the moon and the pale lady that d- dances on its surface.” She remembered these days now, had forgotten about them for years until... well. Until she had seen, _tasted_ , the kind of power Sakura-san wielded, heard the speech about faith and belief the Kiri ANBU had delivered... had joined the team that went to investigate the location of the confrontation between Sakura and her kage.

“Ah. You have met them.” Hinata blinked but kept her head low.

“M- met who?” The rustle of clothing to her right finally forced Hinata to take a look only to find white, glazed over eyes staring back at her. A frail, skeletal hand pointed at the pond and Hinata swallowed.

“The sky, the wind, and the sea.” Just then, a single ripple disturbed the calm of the pond and out of the corner of her eye, Hinata noticed the stars pulse and flash, just once, as a sudden gust of air whipped her hair around. What unsettled her, failed to faze the Hyuuga elder.

“It is not them who are different. It is us.” Hiroyo-sama averted her gaze and rejoined her hands in her lap.

“Great beings, older than civilisation as you know it, the voices and wills of the forces that make up the world.” Four women, who Hinata had thought seemed strangely familiar with the others despite never having met before. The one who had come with the Amekage, a female that never quite seemed to exist in the world around her, that danced and breathed to her own tune. The one who had come with her brother, a heavy presence that drew the attention of all those surrounding her, a woman who smelled of gold, heavy and rich. Finally, the two who gravitated around each other like two moons caught in the other's orbit, who felt like the dark and deep things that could rise up to swallow them all.

“You know who I speak of. There is a spark within you, one I have seen on the day of your birth. Unfit for the world of men and politics, with eyes and a heart that are tethered to what exists behind the curtain.” She flinched a little at the reminder only to realise that the disdain and vitriol that usually accompanied those harsh words, were completely absent.

“It is why I told you of our legends after all.” Hinata didn't dare interrupt the elder, felt what remained unspoken, and knew that she was about to reach a point of no return.

“I am the last remnant of older times, times when we believed in those who came before us, those who will never fade.” She should back away. She ought to get up and leave. It is what her father would want.

“But I am old and soon, I will pass from this plane of existence to join the lady who watches over us and dance her dance as have my mother and her mother... and her mother.” Taking a deep breath and biting her tongue, she was forcibly reminded of her own mother, dead and gone, a warm and loving influence that had brightened up their lives only to be taken from them far too soon.

“It is my duty to uphold the old traditions of our clan, to pass on my teachings before I fade. Sixteen years ago, I have chosen my successor and it seems that the time to share my secrets has come at last.” Her father would expect her to leave. Hinata knew what she should do. And yet...

“Stay, child. Stay and listen as I tell you of the one who has given life to our ancestors, cut our eyes from the rock of the moon itself and has sheltered our people both in life and death.” She looked back on the conviction that had lit up the Kiri ANBU, the giant water dome that reached up all the way into the sky and protected a girl that, to Hinata, felt larger than life... and the obsidian wastes that stretched on and on to infinity, a sea of black glass, rising and crashing waves of crystal, trees and wildlife forever frozen in time.

Hinata relaxed her fingers, folded them neatly in her lap, closed her eyes and did not move.

“Her name... is Kaguya.”

“Have you been dreaming?” Sakura blinked and glanced at Mei who was standing in front of a mirror, painting her lips a dark red that contrasted with the grey of her skin quite nicely. Sakura herself still rested on the bed, lazy and weak, entirely unwilling to get up.

Mei, as promised, had been there when she had woken up an hour ago. They hadn't spoken much until now, lingered in bed for a while until Mei had declared that she would have to go and talk to the Senju. Sakura had itched to protest but tempered the urge, knowing it was fruitless. The idea of the Terumi going out there, or actually anywhere, without Sakura sat ill with her nevertheless.

“About what?” she asked, drawing her legs closer to her body while yawning. She still felt sluggish and even though Mei had said that it would fade soon, Sakura didn't enjoy being this weak and vulnerable.

“The sea.” The sea? She thought of waves, the water, the depths and then scales, green and turquoise and blue, shimmering and beautiful, of long tattered fins, tendrils and spikes, and giant black eyes-

“ _Oh_.” It was a soft gasp, barely audible as it left Sakura's lips, but she was too distracted by the image of the deep sea serpent that sat right in front of her inner eye.

“So she has spoken to you already. Time must be running out then.” Not liking the tone in Mei's voice, Sakura crept to the edge of the bed, reached out and placed the palm of her left hand on the woman's upper arm. A gesture of comfort that didn't feel as alien as she thought it might. In fact, it came to her quite naturally.

“The leviathan...” she trailed off, recalling the hazy memories she had of the conversation that had happened while she had been asleep, a talk in the land of dreams.

“It... she... told me about Yagura. That he's not meant to be here. And that he nearly broke the cycle.” The cycle that meant so much to Sakura even though she didn't know what it entailed. Like most things, she understood it at its core while the details remained out of reach.

“She said you were impatient and tired of waiting.” Mei's throat rumbled as she chuckled quietly, lips twisted into a lopsided smirk as she stared at her mirror image, rearranging the braids Sakura had woven into her hair earlier to her liking.

“She knows me well,” the Terumi admitted and a second later, her mirth had vanished.

“She is waking. If she was able to reach out to you it means she has almost regained her strength. Very soon, we will mobilise and march, to glory and bloodshed, to the war that burns in our hearts.” They would. Such was their nature after all. It was how they lived and died. War and faith were the two spirals that curled around each other and stabilised the queendom of the children of the sea.

“'The sea is ready to rise once more'”, Sakura repeated the hissed words the leviathan had demanded she relay to Mei who hummed and appeared to be deep in thought. Abandoning the task that was fixing her hair, Mei sat down on the mattress and busied herself with Sakura's pink strands instead.

“Every two hundred years, we are thrust into this eternal conflict. To defend ourselves and safeguard our people, we call upon the ocean to extinguish the flames.” Sakura leaned back, allowing Mei to weave the traditional Karatachi braids and listened. She was still sleepy and let the woman's voice lull her into a pleasant trance.

“It consumes her power and sends her to sleep, much like the phoenix needs to rest until he is reborn from his own ashes.” One of the hands withdrew and moments later Sakura felt the blanket being draped over her. Rolling on her side she curled up, already sinking back into those dreams of blue and green.

“Then, over the course of those two hundred years, her power regenerates and manifests in the two halves of her soul. In you and I.” Sakura, who could become the ocean and Mei, who could become the liquid flame. Two primordial giants: volatile when apart, stable when combined.

“The stronger we get and the more we align, the closer she comes to waking. And on the eve of the final battle, we give her power back to her.” She barely held onto consciousness, wanted to listen until Mei fell silent, but was ever so tempted to slip away on the gentle waves of the past and future being wrapped up in a bedtime story.

“She will rise and consume the fire, then return to her slumber and start the cycle anew.” The cycle that could not, must not, ever break. Tiny pieces of a larger puzzle slowly connected, fell into place, painting a piece of art that filled the skies of Sakura's world.

“It is our sacred duty to be ready for her and make sure we protect our home before the bird turns it to ash and dust.” A duty she would fulfill again, and again, and _again_.

“What happens when we give her our power?” Sakura asked sleepily, slurring her words and barely registering the extra note of softness that had snuck into Mei's voice that never halted, never wavered.

“We sleep. And eventually, wake up.” She fell then, out of the sky until she broke through the surface of the sea of her dream world, sinking lower and lower. Surrounded by cold water that tasted of salt, home and family, she didn't register the single drop that landed on her cheek.

“I have no patience for you. Leave.” He could not possibly be any more direct. He was antsy, felt his chakra running through his veins, sharp and jagged and jumpy, eager to break free and tear whoever dared stand in his way to shreds. Once upon a time, he might have made an exception for the man hiding in the shadows to his left. Not anymore.

“I was assigned to watch you.” A growl rumbled low in his throat and he felt the pace of his heartbeat increase, sending adrenaline into every corner of his body, as the other man instinctively echoed the sound.

“Leave before I make you, Hatake.” They had never been friends. A single night of sex meant little to a shinobi. He had never been _fond_ of him but their antagonistic relationship turned into something equal parts sport and pleasure somewhere along the way. He had enjoyed the times they met, be it on a battlefield or in passing. Now he wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into the man's neck until it gave in under the pressure.

“You're on thin ice, Yuki.” Junji snarled and whirled around, blade drawn before he even registered it and swinging it in a wide upwards arc until it came to a stop right on the halfway point between them, held in place by the blunt edge of a kunai.

“Don't you _dare_ tell me my position is precarious when your student nearly got his entire village turned into a glass sculpture mere days ago!” Electricity sparked between them, broke through Hatake's eyes and traveled down his arms into his kunai where it jumped over to Junji's sword. He barely flinched at the sting, too enraged, too furious to even feel pain.

“You're a disgrace, a traitor of the worst kind, so don't you think for even a moment you have the right to talk to me.” Because this man right here was everything Junji despised. A man who had the blood, the heritage, all of it at his fingertips and yet he willfully chose to remain blind and small in blissful ignorance, making a mockery of the glory that was bestowed upon him.

“You've changed. And not for the better.” Junji snarled a second time but dropped his weapon and turned away from the one who smelled of dog instead of wolf as he ought to.

“The world has changed. I have not.” Truth be told, he expected many things. A spike in aggression that could very well lead to a fight that just might lose him his head. Or simple acceptance that would have Hatake return to his perch, a mere blip on the edge of Junji's awareness. The ideal outcome. Instead, the man pocketed his own weapon, hummed, and assumed a slouch that was so fake it hurt Junji to even look at it.

“Massive impenetrable water domes, raging jinchuuriki that gain in strength when their bijuu is asleep, kage that fight their jounin and turn a fifth of Konoha's territory into obsidian glass...” He trailed off and stared into the distance, hands in his pockets, all signs of his former aggression dead and gone.

“The world has changed quite a bit since I last paid attention to it.” Junji bared his teeth with an unhappy grunt and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking in the same direction as Hatake. There was nothing in their line of sight, little more than a dark sky, bright stars and Konoha's rooftops.

“I always thought that you Kiri-nin live in your own bubble where everything you do or say makes perfect sense.” Junji growled, causing Hatake to shrug and briefly raise his hands in defense before they returned to the insides of his pockets.

“You can't exactly blame me. You're almost fanatic in your traditions and culture and have a shield around you whenever you're around outsiders that builds an entire wall between you and the rest of the world.” As much as Junji hated having to admit this, the man was right. Kiri was an isolated nation that hardly ever changed. They were the same clans, the same names, the same specialisations across countless generations. Kiri was always the same, an entire people and culture built on a foundation of permanence. Kiri ran in circles, always returning to the same start and always following the same path.

“At least I assumed you were the only ones. But, as it turns out, Suna and Ame are just like you. Different in all the ways that matter. Makes one think if, perhaps, we're the odd ones out.” Huh. The words actually gave Junji pause, made him consider the man next to him in a different light. That was a direction he never, in a million years, would have expected. The surprise was enough to make him stay and listen some more.

“Suna follows the Kazekage's sister instead of him. Ame follows the Amekage's partner instead of him. And no matter how much the Mizukage places herself in the spotlight, the one they all revolve around, is my former student.” Junji's fingers flew to the hilt of his blade and only decades of honed discipline stayed his hand. Not a threat. A mere observation. Hatake turned his head and raised his single visible eyebrows.

“Thank you for proving my point.” He ground his teeth, cursing himself for walking right in the dog's trap. Like a genin.

“I don't know what makes her special. I certainly won't ask. Your secrets are yours to keep.” It was almost as if some small amount of pressure was lifted off Junji's chest. His muscles loosened and his grip relaxed until his earlier agitation had completely left his body.

“But you look at me as if I personally violated nature's highest order and I want you to tell me why.” A dark eye drilled itself into his own pale ones and the utter seriousness in his face, the grave expression, came as close to intimidating Junji as anything ever could. Momentarily caught off-guard it took him a second to get his face back under control, wiping off the surprise and replacing it with a sneer.

“Have you suddenly decided you care about my opinion?” They had a way of getting underneath each other's skin and Junji would be damned before he allowed the Hatake to get there first. The last time they had ended up on a damp cave floor without their clothes. That could, under no circumstances, be allowed to happen again.

“Not in the least. But you seem to think that there's something you know about me and my family that I don't. Just in case that is true, it is information I have a right to.” Junji snorted and returned his attention to the moon. The audacity, really.

“The gift you are seeking is a reward. It is earned. You have no right to anything,” he explained with clipped words and as much censure as he could fit into his voice without resorting to violence.

“Then shouldn't you let me know what it is so I can decide if the effort is worth it?” Junji frowned heavily, more than insulted by the question and stared the other man down to the best of his ability. Not that the menace was ever bothered. 

“No. You either decide for or against the truth. There is no in-between, no safety net, ho half measures. You have to commit with your heart, soul and mind. Otherwise, you will never gain the secrets you seek.” Right then and there, they were standing on the edge of a cliff. Junji behind Hatake, waiting whether or not the man asked him to give him a shove. Because Junji would. It was not his responsibility, not per se, but the dog who was meant to be a wolf was so far away from his home and his roots, surrounded by those who were too different from him to ever help him see. Junji thought about Sakura who had suffered in this place for years and wondered if being the Terumi to Hatake's Karatachi would truly be such a burden.

“Sounds like a pretty big decision,” the man hummed as he stared at the moon, tiny barely visible currents of lightning dancing along his fingertips. The darkness combined with the moon's bright light threw shadows that only enhanced the sharpness of his face, the edges and angles, painted him silver, black and blue much like the wolves he descended from.

“Alright.” Junji held his breath for a moment as Hatake turned his head and stared at him with his one uncovered eye that had not been replaced by the gift that only held him back.

“Are you sure?” he asked, just once, just to make sure. The silver-haired dog-wolf nodded and Junji took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NaNo is upon me and I decided to dedicate the 50k goal to this fic. It's an uphill battle but I dug my grave.
> 
> On another note, the highlight of the last chapter was supposed to be the final scene between Mei and Sakura. Instead, according to those I talked to, Junji stole the show. Which is in character I suppose but that doesn't mean I have to like it. :D
> 
> ALSO: Since I'm having a major art depression, I'm not likely to draw either Mei or Sakura anytime soon. What I can do though is offer the links of the artwork I used as inspiration for the creatures they descended from and share most of their features with. If you made up your own image, keep it and don't look at the links. :D
> 
> For those who are curious, here are the sirens (Terumi):  
> https://www.artstation.com/artwork/6A16r  
> and the naga (Karatachi):  
> https://images5.alphacoders.com/296/296097.jpg


	18. Act III: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also known as "Hinata: The Chapter" or, alternatively, plot twist?
> 
> @AnjuHime: I'm glad you liked it! It was quite the uh, lore heavy chapter. As for Mei and Sakura, well, it's just not a love story. They were always meant to be this way and I just put the nail in the coffin. Was long overdue to be honest.  
> @Meowler: Thank you! I was a bit worried about it especially now that I'm heading towards the climax of the story as the mysteries begin to unravel bit by bit.  
> @loganliet: Kaguya is not a goddess. There's no actual gods although they are certainly revered as such. There's just power and Kaguya is a very minor one since her followers are "just" the Hyuuga clan. As for what Mei and Sakura are, apart from the leviathan's chosen avatars - much like Temari is the djinn's and Konan is the fae's - will be revealed eventually. :) Anyway, glad you like it so far!  
> @2GeometricOwls: Aww, thank you! I really appreciate it. :)  
> @raell: Good to hear you enjoy it. Their dynamic and unique relationship is one of the major points of the whole fic so it's nice to hear I got it right. Thank you!  
> @lumosey: Hi! Glad you like it so far. I'm the same, really. I enjoy mythology and all the obscure stuff, pagan practises, old religions.... hence I'm doing this. As for Kakashi, that will be wrapped up in the next omake I should release this week. Hopefully.  
> Now about your question: There are no gods. At least not the way you'd think a god is like. There is only power. Power, created and fuelled by faith. As with real life old religions, the people believed in the moon and the sea, the wind, etc. All that is around them, makes up the world, gives life and sustains them. Faith caused those powers to grow until they took shape - the leviathan, the djinn, etc. are personifications/manifestations of the powers. They're being, not living or breathing creatures. Eventually, they chose their avatars - one human or, in the ocean's case, two. Ordinary people that follow the old ways - all of Kiri, Suna, Ame, etc. - are believers/worshippers. Among those, some are priests which sometimes go by different names, it all depends on the individual culture. Konoha lost its power, stopped believing in it, and forgot about its faith so they are non-believers.  
> Kaguya is a power, but a very minor one. This chapter should clear some of that up. Since she was created by the Hyuuga clan's faith, she has very few believers and as such is younger and much weaker than the "old, great and ancient ones". The moons belong to Kiri's domain since they create the tides and are closely related to the ocean. Sakura and Mei are repeatedly referred to as the twin moons and represent a crescent and full moon each. Kaguya is the dancer who lives on the moon and guards it - traditionally the Hyuuga believed in the moon and thus created their own minor power. They are, sort of, cousins in faith, to Kiri. More such minor cases exist but they're not relevant/won't be mentioned in the story. Hinata is a priestess, Kaguya is too weak to create an avatar.  
> That was a lot of disjointed rambling but I hope it was still understandable. If not, uh, I will gladly try again. I know it's a lot and I don't help by spacing out the information like a puzzle that only really makes sense in hindsight.  
> But it's my style. Can't help it. :D

“Are you sure you're alright?” The boy next to Hinata grunted as he leaned on her. The bandages were gone and by now Naruto barely resembled the bloody and torn up boy Sakura-san had left behind in her violence. Hinata had visited him every day, tended to him in the hospital while he'd been asleep. She hadn't minded the task, enjoyed doing something with her hands that left her mind unoccupied enough to process what she learned during the nights.

“I'll be back to normal before you know it!” The sudden brightness and life in Naruto's eyes were fake and she knew it. The encounter had shaken him more than he liked to admit. Sasuke, too. All of them had been deeply unsettled by the evidence of what their former classmate was capable of. And none but Hinata knew there was more to the story than they assumed. And she couldn't tell them. They weren't ready. _Konoha_ wasn't ready.

“Watch it, idiot. If you fall over again I won't take you to the hospital.” And just like that, they were back to bickering with each other. Naruto and Sasuke truly were one of a kind. Eternally at each other's throats and yet they would set the world on fire for the other. For a brief moment, Hinata wondered if perhaps in a different time, a different world, they could have been part of something bigger as well.

Tuning them out because truthfully, Hinata knew their arguments inside out, they slowly made their way towards the arena. In two hours the third and final task of the chuunin exams would begin. While most of the Konoha teams had failed to make it this far, her own sister was still among the contestants. Hinata had little doubt that Hanabi would succeed and gain her promotion.

Once upon a time, it would have bothered her, that she had only become a chuunin after her second attempt while Hanabi was guaranteed to make the cut the first time around. She would have taken it as just another failure in a long list of deficiencies that made her unworthy of being the eldest, the pitiful future of their clan. Now, after spending every night by Hiroyo-sama's side, listening to tales of power and mysticism and learning more about the origin of her clan and the ways of the world than she ever thought she would...

Hanabi had her place and Hinata had hers. In a few years' time, she would surrender the title of clan heir to Hanabi. Her father would no doubt be both pleased and disappointed but Hinata found that his judgement didn't mean all that much to her anymore. Not when he seemed like little more than a single particle of dust in comparison to a cosmos full of stars.

One after another, the rest of their year mates joined them and she exchanged greetings and smiles with all of them, oblivious to the curious glances she drew from a few of them. Hinata failed to notice them just as much as she failed to notice the lack of blush on her cheeks or the nervous fumbling usually caused by Naruto's presence.

“So Hina... what have you been up to in the past few days? Haven't seen you around much.” Pulled from her musings, Hinata blinked twice at Kiba before sending him a small smile. Akamaru trotted beside him and he was a little closer to her than the others, had actually escorted her to and back from the hospital every single day.

She couldn't help but think he was a little silly, all of them were in their own ways, so concerned about Hinata and her fascination with Sakura-san that she finally, at last, had a reason for. She vividly recalled what she had done to Naruto, how she had inflicted wounds on him that would have killed a hundred ordinary shinobi, and the oppressive darkness that turned the air to water all around her.

Still, Hinata couldn't say she was terrified of her. She used to be, sometimes more, sometimes less, but now... she had nothing to fear from her. This, Hinata knew above all else. Whether it be due to the shawl she had worn, a lingering sense of recognition or perhaps even a small bit of affection... whatever it was, it had stayed Sakura's hand.

And it would continue to do so. For all that the entirety of Konoha thought Hinata was crushing on the Kiri-nin, and maybe she used to, just a little, she had learned that her attachment to Sakura-san was entirely natural. For who was closer to the children of the sea and the two moons that led them, than those who had been created by the pale lady, the dancer, the guardian of the moons themselves?

“I spent some time with our clan eldest. She has a lot of interesting stories to tell.” From the creation of their clan to the days of glory when Kaguya had bestowed upon them the gift that was their byakugan. All that, Hiroyo-sama had said, happened centuries after the fall of the greatest of cities, a queendom that had stretched across all the isles and persevered long after their ancestors beneath the tides had turned their back on the world, retreated until eventually, they disappeared entirely.

Their clan had never wandered far from their territory, then later joined the ones born from and walking with the forest, never connecting with their cousins in faith. As the centuries went by and they felt more and more removed from the moon, surrounded by a people of a different kind, one by one they adopted new customs, new practises. Until one day, the dancer faded from their lives, returned to the moon, lonely and weak, her only company the very few who still offered her sacrifices, spoke prayers with her name.

Kaguya was not one of the ancient ones, not one of the pillars that made up the world, a younger and smaller spirit but one that meant everything to Hinata's ancestors. One that had meant everything to her own mother. Going down a path that would separate her from her clan, turn her into a priestess rather than a leader, was a choice she would make gladly, over and over again.

“Eeeh... sounds kinda boring.” Yes, Hinata thought fondly, Kiba would react like that. Most of her friends would. Back when the Kiri delegation had arrived in Konoha the obvious difference between the way they moved, talked, even breathed, painted such a stark contrast to the people of Konoha she was used to that Hinata had always felt... torn. Now that she stood on the other side of the invisible line that separated them, she wondered if this was what the Kiri-nin saw whenever they were faced with Konoha's shinobi and civilians.

“It's important,” she offered just as they walked up the steps to the arena. Their group had decided to sit and watch the fights together, had managed to secure a row of seats close to the kage box. Hinata had expected more objections to being just a few seats away from Sakura-san who was still under house arrest and would arrive accompanied by two whole ANBU squads. Not that those would help much in light of what she had just recently learned, but it wasn't Hinata's place to question these things.

They made their way towards the seats and both the sweetness in the air coupled with a soft breeze that glinted and glittered occasionally in the bright sunlight told Hinata that both the Suna and Ame avatars were already in attendance. Hiroyo-sama had said that Hinata was so strongly aligned with her inherent spiritualism that she would have an easy time developing an eye for the hidden things. Despite that, she still wasn't quite there so when she gazed upon the two women she saw little more than faint golden dust around the Suna one's head and a subtle sparkle on the Ame's skin.

“So, what do you think? Who's going to win?” Naruto asked just as Ino, Shikamaru and Choji took their seats, sparking a debate Hinata listened to with half an ear. The arena was already close to being filled, and from the distance, she spotted the red and white hat on top of blonde hair making its way towards the kage box. All the nobles were already present, as well as an unusually high amount of ANBU Hinata only saw due to her byakugan. With enough practise, the matriarch had said, she would be able to make use of it even in its passive state.

“Hanabi will be promoted. But I think one of the Kiri genin will come in first.” Naruto made a face while Sasuke frowned.

“You're biased, Hina,” Kiba pointed out which was much better than any of the comments the others could have made. Hinata wouldn't excuse what Sakura-san had done, wasn't privy to the secrets of Kiri much like Hiroyo-sama wasn't, but she could quite confidently claim that she was no longer biased.

“They train them for war and bloodshed. This is where they shine.” Kiri's reputation wasn't undeserved. Sakura-san was not a cause but a symptom. Even without her extraordinary circumstances, Hinata remembered their first set of chuunin exams and how a girl that was so far from home, that had never received the training of her people, had still held the violence and hunger in her veins that had spilled the blood of countless genin.

“Are you okay Hina? You're... different.” She blinked at Ino's sudden comment and looked at the blonde, finding all their eyes on her. Shikamaru who remained quiet by Ino's side, stared at Hinata as if she was a particularly fascinating puzzle and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.

“I am?” Was she? Examining herself and her behaviour she found little out of place other than the calm that had settled in her bones ever since she started spending her evenings and nights with the clan elder.

“Your stutter is gone.” Her lips parted slightly at Naruto's sudden show of perceptiveness. He seemed solemn and serious as he squinted his eyes at her. She hadn't even noticed. But he was right. All the nervosity that had been part of her ever since she'd been born had... not vanished but settled. Hinata felt simultaneously more rooted to the ground and like she was flying above the clouds.

“I took up meditation.” A lie yet still easier to explain than the fact that she'd been introduced to a world none of them were a part of or... Hinata shifted her attention to Shikamaru and the barely visible tendrils of pure shadow that clung to the edges of his face. He held her gaze, for a single second, but that second was enough. Well. Perhaps a world that not _all_ of them were a part of.

“Anyway, my money's on that mean-looking Suna kid. The one with all the tattoos? I heard that during the banquet they all seasoned their food with poison. Absolutely crazy...” Choji muttered, rekindling their earlier discussion.

She tuned them out, basking in the sunlight and the subtle breeze that ruffled her hair. It was a beautiful day and while she would be sad to see Sakura-san gone, she figured it was for the best. Konoha wasn't made for her kind and, Hinata remembered with a smile, no matter how far away the girl, the moon would still shine down upon the both of them, connecting them in more ways than just one.

“...can't believe they still let her come.” Salt entered her nose and from far away, Hinata could hear the call of the waves and the rush of water. She didn't need to open her eyes to know who had just arrived. Still, she did. Only to part her lips in silent wonder, eyes wide.

Side by side Sakura-san and her kage walked up the stairs, gait in perfect synchronisation and Hinata was willing to bet, their hearts beating in the same rhythm. Still. That wasn't what truly held her attention.

“I swear, these people are so weird,” Ino muttered at the sight of the silver rings clasped around Sakura-san's biceps and elbow and the lines of blue and green that painted her skin. The pattern was different from the one she had worn during the banquet and Hinata, who saw the faint shimmer of teal on her skin, the hint of fins and claws, swallowed audibly.

Her hair was just as made up as her kage's though in a different style, both elegant and practical, braids that carried significance Hinata wasn't aware of, that merged seamlessly with long strands trailing behind the girl. She had once looked at Sakura-san and saw a fascinating girl her age that had always been too different. Now, she saw a kind of resplendence shared only by a select few.

“They're just different. Not weird,” Hinata found herself saying with a subtle hint of censure in her voice that nobody, including herself, had expected.

“Hey Hina, has anyone checked you for a gen-” Naruto was cut off by Hinata getting to her feet as the two passed them. She bowed her head by a mere fraction and, from the corner of her eye, noted Shikamaru do the same. While the kage seemed almost amused, Sakura-san stopped to face her before tilting her head to the side.

“You glow. It suits you.” Unable to fully suppress the flush, Hinata offered the girl a small smile and took the compliment without responding in kind. She understood the spirit in which the words were offered. From one to another, and while Hinata was nothing in comparison to the moons themselves, she would one day be a priestess herself.

“Blessings to you and your young ones,” she spoke formally just the way Hiroyo-sama had instructed her. The girl in front of her blinked once, and for a second, the newfound calm and serenity that surrounded her shifted, revealing an image Hinata was much more familiar with. An image she recalled from the early days of her acquaintance. Well. Hinata wasn't the only one altered by the powers she had given herself to.

“And yours,” Sakura-san murmured, black eyes stuck on Hinata for another moment before she turned away, making her way to the kage area.

“Okay seriously, what was that? Why are you like... like them?” Torn from her own little world, Hinata remembered herself and her surroundings. She looked at Naruto who seemed equal parts incredulous and confused and smiled at him.

“I am still the ambassador to the Kiri teams. I am merely doing my duty.” A small spark of annoyance rose up within her as she took in the wide eyes and shocked expressions of those around her. Being able to speak in full sentences shouldn't be such a novelty. Hinata had always been shy and timid but she truly wished her finally having found some self-confidence, rooted in faith and having found a place in the world or not, shouldn't be met by such utter... disbelief.

“Look don't take this the wrong way but you've been kinda off ever since we met up earlier today. Are you sure you're okay?” It stung, more than Hinata liked to admit. She could understand that undergoing such a drastic change within a week might cause a few eyebrows to rise. What they didn't know, _couldn't_ know, was that all it had taken for her to finally find her inner balance had been an odd acquaintance that became a portal to another, hidden reality that felt so right and so much more like home than her previous one. She wished she could tell them.

“I'm fine. Please stop asking.” Please.

“Hina-”

“Just leave her alone. It's none of your business.” Saved by the most unlikely of supporters. Finding Shikamaru's eyes, Hinata conveyed all the gratitude she felt and smiled when he nodded at her.

“Oi!” Beyond relieved that the Nara had willingly drawn Naruto's attention to him, Hinata vowed to make it up to him. And then, perhaps, they might one day be able to speak of matters the others weren't privy to. She would really like that.

Just then, a sharp whistle echoed through the arena and when Hinata looked up, she was met by the sight of the Hokage standing in front of her seat, megaphone in her hand, ready to signal the start of the third round. Hinata leaned back, crossed one leg over the other, and watched.

“I find myself quite excited about the upcoming fights.” Sakura glanced at the Titania who sat on Ame's designated chair. The kage himself stood slightly to the side and behind her, much like Sakura had assumed a similar position next to Mei. Nobody had protested that the female companions had taken the seats meant for the kage though Sakura wasn't sure if that was simply due to respect for another's ways or simply because one oddity chased the other and Konoha no longer had it within themselves to try and make sense of them.

“These exams are good entertainment if nothing else,” the Desert Fury replied in that rich voice of hers that dripped with gold and sand, such a stark contrast to the airy and sweet tones coming from the one of the sky.

“I am glad I came. It has been too long since I last tasted the powers that be all around me.” The Titania twisted her head, looking at both Mei and Sakura as a small, barely noticeable smile slipped on her mulberry lips.

“You look better now that you're together. It's ever such a joy to find things exactly as they're meant to be.” Not privy to Mei's reaction, Sakura acknowledged her by dipping her head before straightening her military stance. The tips of her claws danced along the hilts of her twin blades and, if at all possible, the ANBU's eyes on her sharpened even further to the point where she could pinpoint their locations without having to turn around.

“As the water rises, so does the fire. Not all joy lasts forever. As you well know.” There was no censure in Mei's voice though the odd undertone it held didn't sit well with Sakura who fidgeted subtly. The older woman had been off ever since Sakura had woken to find her sitting by her side, black eyes resting on her form, clouded over as if she were stuck in a haze or a dream, not by much, just enough for her to notice. She hadn't questioned her, still didn't, but resolved to watch her like a hawk. Not that the nervous energy that Sakura tried to keep as close to herself as possible gained her any favours with her watchers.

“Do I ever. I shall watch you during the days ahead, through darkness and beyond.” Something about this exact sequence of words jogged Sakura's memory, made her think of another woman with diamond skin and blue hair that looked just like this one yet not. A woman that had offered the same sentiment over and over and over again-

“Thank you,” Mei uttered softly as Sakura's hand itched to rest on her shoulder to offer comfort. A gesture she couldn't afford, not in public. Perhaps she imagined it, but the older woman seemed to twitch and Sakura liked to think that the sentiment was felt even though the touch was not.

“Before you depart I shall offer you my blessing. It is not my war, and it never has been, but after all this time I find I prefer your company to his. He has always thought too highly of himself and never went with the times. As much as we are a constant, the world around us isn't. You have always understood this better than he ever did.” Despite not being part of the conversation, the Hokage snorted in amusement, causing Sakura's hackles to rise. Long thin fingers on her wrist stayed her hand. Mei's attention was back on the Desert Fury before Sakura noticed she held it in the first place.

“While we appreciate the gesture, we urge you to change your mind. He is our enemy because history demands it. This is not a conflict with sides. For your own sake, do not make it so.” While Mei including Sakura in her reply drew the odd stare from an outsider to her it felt too natural to remark upon or give it another thought. Instead, she observed the Suna avatar who merely gave a careless wave with her hand that caused some the dust swirling all around her to travel through the air and never return.

“The brunt of his flames will target you as it always has. What remains cannot even hope to match the heart of the desert. I have little to risk and much to gain.” This... did nothing to Sakura. None of the flashes or impressions she tended to get when things played out a specific way... not this time. Almost as if this was a novelty. Unprecedented.

“And what is it you expect to gain?” She had spoken up without meaning to. Mei's heart skipped a beat, Sakura felt the echo in her chest stutter and stop, before it resumed. Suna and Ame turned to gaze upon her, molten gold and sunset orange, and she was not cowed or afraid. They were just like her. Equals, in every sense of the word.

“Prosperity for a far-off future in which, perhaps, the cycle no longer exists.” Heresy. Only Mei's quick intervention, a movement so fast Sakura failed to see it, interrupted the hiss that was about to make it past her lips. Mei's grip was so tight it almost hurt and left dark marks on her green skin. Forcefully reminding herself that she was half of the woman's temper and self-control, Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to ground herself as much as she was able.

“That will never happen. The cycle is eternal. It is such an integral part of us, of him, that breaking it would mean the end of our existence,” she bit out instead, words sharp and edged but better than Mei's would have been. Sakura's temper was violent and oppressive. Mei's was that of a slighted monarch and ever so much worse if roused.

“You, me, all of us, we make up the world. It is us, much as we are it. And we have not always been the same. Not tomorrow, not in a year, not even in a thousand years will we know change. But one day... one day will find us all with different names and different faces and different hearts.” The Desert Fury leaned back as the Hokage next to them, who had listened to their conversation or not – Sakura didn't know – started the introductory speech for the third task.

“Nothing is truly eternal. The only constant is change.” And that was that, apparently. Sakura dug her claws into Mei's scales, the two of them fighting the same battle. Suna hadn't meant offense. She'd shown support, for the first time in forever alluded to taking a side in the oldest war in history. But to hear her words, even consider the end of the cycle that made them who they are-

Sakura shivered visibly and itched to take something between her hands and make it burst.

“I will remain as I am and reserve judgement. For now.” Barely audible over the resounding cheers that filled the arena, the Titania too withdrew herself from the conversation in favour of watching the proceedings below.

“This is wrong.” Sakura almost missed Mei's hushed whisper, a low hiss meant for Sakura's ears only. Neither paid much attention to the grandstanding and showy aspects of the ceremony. They would watch when their young ones were going to step into the ring, not before.

“Different. It's different,” she corrected Mei, being her voice of reason in a turn that didn't surprise her as much as it should. She had assumed her earlier stance but inched just a little closer to the older woman so that the power Sakura kept close to her body brushed against Mei's.

“Too much has already gone wrong, fallen out of order. What if this is but a start, a symptom of a great age ending-” Sakura reached out and placed her hand on Mei's shoulder, feeling the cold of her body through thin blue silk.

“It isn't.” She said this with all the conviction she felt in her heart, words brimming with faith and certainty that rested in every fibre of her body, that made her who she was. These were their roles. The mind and the heart and now that Sakura was finding back to what she had lost, she closed her eyes and allowed it to lead her. Beneath her fingers the agitated currents of Mei's aura calmed, returning once more to a gentle stream of red and blue. Still, she didn't remove her hand and Mei didn't ask her to.

“Have faith, my Queen.” Black met black as Mei's head whipped around only to gaze upon the utter serenity that was Sakura. She smiled, a tiny little thing, and squeezed her shoulder before withdrawing her hand and paying attention to the first match that would start within seconds. It took a while until Mei did the same, fingers twitching as if wanting to hold onto the moment and never letting it go.

“I am not surprised to see your young ones all made it to the final round.” It was odd to hear the Desert Fury's companion speak, the kage who had spent most his time in the company of his sister in silence. His voice was low and rough, but an echo of the one Sakura recalled from the last time they'd met. He had offered few words then but looking back, she had seen the same spark in his eyes. He'd known of his place in the world much sooner than Sakura.

“Not all of them. Our oldest team was forced to withdraw during the preliminaries. Their injuries were too grave,” Sakura replied in Mei's place, granting the older woman an additional breath or two to find back to herself.

“Ah. But of course. My mistake.” A thinly veiled note of amusement accompanied the man's dry voice and Sakura knew he was fully aware that their third genin team was no genin team at all. Considering whose guardian he was, he was bound to be especially observant. If her dust did little to deter her brother, nothing would.

“I don't know why we didn't force two rounds during the prelims. Too many kids made it. This is going to take forever,” the Hokage grumbled from where she sat, still willfully ignorant of the conversations that went on around her. Sakura squinted at the woman sitting behind her, the one who had effortlessly seen her true face and who seemed to listen when her mistress didn't. An odd combination, dark and light, with open eyes and a closed heart. For her sake, Sakura hoped she would succeed.

“Our matches won't last long. We teach them not to play with their food.” The Hokage glowered at Mei while the Titania's laughter rang out like tinkling bells.

“Time has done nothing to rob you of your charm,” she added with squinted eyes, euphoria positively radiating from her diamond-carved body. The match was called then and Sakura realised she had missed it in its entirety. Oh well. Grass had lost and Konoha had won. Casting a single glance at the victor, she spotted milky white eyes and dark hair. The Hyuuga's younger sister then. She'd be glad that her sibling won.

It took three uneventful fights until one of their own was called into the ring. Kamenoko had gotten lucky with that one. She'd been matched against another bruiser and while the girl looked more delicate, Sakura was very well aware of how hard her shell could be. The turtle descendants were hardy as the opposing Ame genin was guaranteed to find out.

True to Mei's words, the match didn't last long. It was obvious that the boy was accomplished but only few were instructed in the truly devastating genjutsu and mind-altering techniques Ame favoured. He clearly wasn't one of them, and the combination of styles that made up the majority of his training was nothing in the face of Kiri's unrestrained violence tempered only by a very specific kind of discipline.

“He wasn't ready. Konoha's rule of three forced us to add two recent graduates,” the Amekage commented, causing the Kazekage to incline his head in agreement. The next match was won by Ame, a girl who was accompanied by a subtle sparkle and two small lights dancing around her head. One of the sky's favoured then. She dispatched a loud Konoha kid, a teammate of Hyuuga's sister, with almost satisfying ease.

Suna won the following fight and the one after that. One darted in, quick like a scorpion, and poisoned their opponent, while the other used a combination of sand-style taijutsu and futon techniques to overpower Ren. Sakura winced as the boy was smacked into the walls of the arena, his already weakened body damaged even further.

“That was unnecessary,” Mei sniffed derisively and Sakura fervently agreed. Neither had been under any illusion that their orphan would be able to put up much of a fight. He had mostly recovered though he was still fragile, his chakra impaired by a number of small blockages. A simple knockout would have sufficed.

“Says Kiri,” the Hokage mumbled from her seat and it took Mei's and Sakura's combined willpower to keep the latter from jumping at the blonde who merely raised a single eyebrow.

“A show of strength, nothing more, nothing less. I have no doubt one of your young priestesses will repay him in kind.” Suna sounded like she didn't care either way. A look towards the balcony where the genin gathered revealed Kamenoko cracking her knuckles and Junji's hunter-nin trainee playing with her senbon, eyes firmly stuck on the tattooed boy that had knocked out Ren.

“Miyazaki is his next opponent. His performance is guaranteed to satisfy,” Mei muttered. Sakura felt a vicious sense of glee rise up within her. Few matched the dolphin's utter viciousness. That boy would _ruin_ his enemy.

Suna against Ame resulted in Ame's victory while Grass delivered a pathetic attempt at fighting Konoha. Aranami took out Suna while Unagi employed the same method he'd used to get the chuunin to talk to make Konoha scream before their genin passed out. Grass then triumphed over the other recent Ame graduate before surrendering himself. None of the matches were particularly eyecatching, especially Kiri's. Some villages were playing more into the whole grandstanding affair than others and Sakura had told the genin to win fast and clean the day before the final task.

Eventually, the match she'd been looking forward to had arrived. Katsumi dropped into the arena with his chakra already rushing through his veins. Teeth sharp and bared, he drew his blades and wasted no time falling into his clan's fighting stance. The Suna-nin wasn't fazed while Sakura was positively brimming with anticipation. Fast and clean was flying out the window at neck-breaking speed and while the boy was guaranteed to go against her rules, she fully supported his decision.

Ren was their weakest link, a boy that was struggling with his identity but so full of dedication and ambition to fully absorb everything he hadn't been born with that Sakura looked at him and found a piece of herself staring back. She'd been him once, ~~not really~~ , and much like Mei would have torn apart whoever dared harm Sakura, she couldn't wait for that Suna genin to be cut up like the prey he was.

“I trust he won't kill him?” the Kazekage asked and while Sakura gave a sharp jerk of her head, she couldn't quite hide the tips of her fangs from showing.

“The boy is sturdy. Still, Matsuri will see to him personally.” The man nodded, signaling a brown-haired kunoichi that sat with the rest of Suna's delegation. The girl sat up straighter, hands in her pockets. Sakura couldn't help but stand taller and prouder. Ever since they'd come to Konoha they had been looked at as if they were wild animals, just a moment away from losing control. Like they were beasts. This was respect. Respect for another culture, a dangerous and skilled people whose lives revolved around warfare.

The proctor, a man Sakura recalled from her first Konoha exams, called the start of the match and Katsumi was off. A mere blur of blue and grey he disappeared from sight between one moment and the next only to blink back into existence behind the Suna genin. He wasn't that fast by Kiri standards but Suna, who bred their shinobi to be cunning and employ physical strength in combination with poisons and wind jutsu tended to be slower in general.

A hardened shell of earth and dirt encasing the Suna boy's forearms took the brunt of Katsumi's initial flurry of attacks. They traded hits for a while that Katsumi sidestepped without fail as he chipped away at his opponent's armour. The smart, tactical option would be to use a few well-aimed suiton jutsu to soften and weigh down his protections. A simple follow-up swipe would be enough to end the match. A quick victory. One Sakura and Mei didn't want. Neither did Katsumi.

Instead, the boy threw himself at the Suna genin without abandon, completely letting go of his control. His aura spiked with every hit he delivered. Even though it was nothing in comparison to Mei's, Sakura still felt the thrum of his chakra from where she was standing. A fine scion of his clan indeed.

It didn't take long for the Suna boy to slow down, chakra running low while Katsumi had barely even touched his. The matchup had been disadvantageous for the former from the start and when Katsumi darted close to force the tips of his swords through the boy's forearms, forcing him to the floor and nailing him to the ground, Sakura couldn't stop a both pleased and aggressive hiss from escaping her throat.

“Didn't you do something similar to your opponent during your preliminaries?” Mei asked blithely as she gave Katsumi who bowed for his kage a nod of approval.

“Ah. I did,” Sakura replied, remembering the smell of blood, red that coated the arena, and a terrified blonde scrambling away from her. The memory nearly made her breath run short. A featherlight touch on her wrist removed the red filter from Sakura's vision as the air returned to her lungs.

“How nice to see your people haven't let go of your age-old tradition of impaling your enemies,” the Desert Fury drawled while the Kazekage's student dropped into the arena to remove the blades Katsumi still hadn't reclaimed and tend to the Suna genin.

“You're one to talk. How long until Miyazaki passes out? Ten seconds? Five?” Sakura went back and forth between Mei and the Desert Fury, taking in the raised brow of the former and the subtle smirk of the latter.

“Three.” And after exactly three seconds, Katsumi's eyes rolled back into his skull before he crumbled.  
  
“A minor incapacitating agent. After the incident I had the children remove their potentially deadly toxins from their persons.” A much appreciated gesture that hadn't been demanded by Mei. Maybe there was more to Suna's declaration of support than they initially expected.

“And we are tha-” It happened faster than Sakura could process. One moment she stood behind Mei, fingers interlocked behind her back, listening to the casual banter between the older woman and the Desert Fury. The next, she was in front of all of them, hands raised towards the sun, a giant shield of water catching the fire suddenly raining down from the sky.

The assault was over as quickly as it had begun. Sakura lowered her hands, collapsing the shield, and craned her neck to stare at the clouds only to be met by a sight that froze the very blood running through her veins.

“ _You_!” she hissed with three voices instead of one, the darkness within her dragging her down to swallow her whole. She felt Mei beside her before she could see her, fangs and claws sharp and bared, the air around her searing Sakura's skin.

“How arrogant you must be to play nice with the vermin instead of attempting to prepare for your final days.” Sakura covered her ears with her hands at the unholy screech that came from the girl with red hair and burning eyes, the one clad in dark shimmering plates of black and gold, whose red drapes fluttered in the wind as she hovered in the sky, held aloft by wings of flame.

“Did you call him? _Are you responsible for this?!_ ” Mei rounded on the Hokage, just a hair's breadth away from slipping so Sakura, who was hanging on by a mere thread herself, clawed at her wrist until the older woman backed off.

“I don't know what THE HELL is going on but if you brought your war to my doorstep-”

“This is an amiable gathering. Your interruption shows poor taste.” Sakura had trouble hearing the Titania's words that were overpowered by the echo of Mei's heartbeat that nearly deafened her. The steady thrum of power both within her and Mei made it hard to concentrate on anything else at all. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath in an effort to keep her sanity. There were children. Civilians. Now that she'd gotten a taste of what a complete and utter loss of control truly looked like she knew she couldn't afford to let it happen. Not here. Not now.

“My fair Lady Titania. Greetings to you and Her Radiance of the East Wind.” The demon bowed at the waist and Sakura's quick reflexes were the only thing stopping Mei from launching herself at the bird. A few globs of lava sailed through the air until they were deflected by the wings that momentarily shielded the body from view.

“You received no invitation. Have you not enough respect to keep us out of your fights?” The Titania had risen from her seat, long blue hair trailing behind her, the lights that tended to stick close to her body dancing around her head. The bird, perfectly unconcerned, gave a simple wave of its hand, long red hair fluttering in the wind.

“There are no rules in this war, my lady. No courtesy, no mercy, no honour.”

“ _There is always honour in war!_ ” Mei hissed, drawing the demon's attention as its neutral expression was replaced by a sneer.

“Lowborn barbarians and mindless beasts cannot possibly be expected to find glory in anything else other than slaughter and bloodshed,” it snarled and Sakura snapped. With a sound that could not be described, a mixture of a roar and a hiss, she launched herself through the air, both blades in her hands, and aimed for its throat. Fire burned her skin as the wings batted her to the wayside but she had already called upon her power to find instantaneous relief in a bubble of water.

“Look at you. So careless, so pathetic. The brighter one of the moons they call you, and yet you are little more than a fish suffocating on land.” Sakura knew no calm and no reason. She took a deep dive into the pool that rested in the lowest pits of her belly, way past even Isobu, and drowned herself in it.

“Shit. Shit! Shitshitshit-” Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, gripping him tight and looking him in the eyes as he said:

“You can't fight. You're still injured. Fuck knows what the hell is going on but we'll get our orders and you will go home. Are we clear?” the Uchiha demanded as Hinata's eyes were stuck on what happened above their heads, the flames and the water, an unknown assailant that Hinata knew deep down was worse than a nightmare, and Sakura-san.

“Like _hell_ I'll just go home-”

“ARE WE CLEAR?!” She flinched at the Uchiha's roar, a sound so primal and raw, filled with the kind of emotion the sullen boy ordinarily refused to show. His fingers dug into Naruto's flesh as their eyes met, filled with fire, a moment between the two who would go through hell for one another.

“These people. Everyone! They need us. I will not back down,” Naruto growled as civilians around them began to panic and shinobi tried to keep the general order. The air in the arena had warmed considerably. Beads of sweat ran down Hinata's neck as fire raged high above her head, kept at bay by nothing more than Sakura-san and the flood she brought. This was what Hiroyo-sama had told her about. The eternal fall and rise of those who were born time and time again just to tear each other down.

“Please.” She barely caught the whispered plea and turned her head away to deliberately miss the shared affection between two of her closest friends. Instead, she nodded at Kiba and Shino while shedding the outer layer of her clothing.

“Let's go.” Hinata felt rather than saw the rest of their group following them to where the Hokage stood, stuck in an only barely civil confrontation with the Mizukage. Chakra and power weighed down their immediate surroundings and Hinata knew from personal, too personal, experience just how close Sakura-san's other half truly was. When hanging onto a mere thread, Sakura-san and her kage were the same.

“-die in your country, go missing, get _lost_ , burned and _charred_ to ash and here he is and you dare claim you are not involved?!” Hinata swallowed audibly, grabbing Kiba's wrist as the image in front of her shifted and she gazed upon grey scales, sharp fangs and red that pulsed beneath the woman's skin. Her fury punched through the illusion, granting Hinata a glimpse of what laid beneath, making her want to go on her knees and bow her head.

“I've fucking had it with the chaos and destruction that follows you wherever you go and if the world doesn't go back to making sense anytime soon I'm going to lose the last shred of patience I still have!” The Hokage took a single step forward, hands balled to fists and crackling with chakra. Shizune tried to talk to her but her efforts went unheard. And Hinata... Hinata wanted to scream. At all of them. They couldn't go down this road. They would not be able to weather the storm.

“You stem from the very line that has hunted and murdered my people for thousands of years!” The woman's voice was distorted, carried undertones that made Hinata's skin crawl. Naruto fidgeted as if to step in so she clawed her hand around his wrist to restrain him. When he turned to look at her, she shook her head.

“I have NOTHING to do with this you mad woman-”

“SENJU!” the Mizukage howled, lava running down her arms and dripping onto the floor, auburn strands swirling around her head. ANBU all around them shot out of their hiding places, weapons in their hands. The lava coiled and rose from the ground towards the Hokage who raised her fists, chakra gathering in her hands-

“Please. There has been enough lack of regard and respect for one day. Retain your civility.” Calm and serenity filled the air, a sweet taste so heavy and oppressive Hinata nearly went to her knees. While the Suna avatar remained indifferent, Ame had spoken up. When Hinata looked into her face, those glowing orange eyes had turned into countless shades of red and purple, tiny galaxies with millions of stars. Tsunade-sama's chakra flickered before dying out and even the Mizukage's lava collapsed into a still pool on the floor. The latter briefly closed her eyes, followed by a shaky agitated release of air from her lungs.

“I... will take the bird and tear it to pieces. You better pray it doesn't mention you. Else I will point the ancient fury that is mine in your direction.” Her voice chilled Hinata to her very bones. The woman had always been tall though now she towered over all of them, back ramrod straight and somehow more terrifying in her deceptive calm than outright fury.

“Is that a threat?” the Hokage demanded, not nearly as resistant to Ame's show of power. Hinata herself couldn't move much like her friends all of whom were stuck to the ground, sleepy and entirely unwilling to do anything at all. The ANBU that had been about to interfere had aborted their actions in favour of balancing on the railing, utterly docile.

“A promise.”

“Don't force my hand, Terumi. Don't start another war when you're neck-deep in one already,” Tsunade-sama snarled but even her legendary temper couldn't hope to faze the statue that was one half of the sea, one of the two moons the Hyuuga guarded and cherished. An ugly sneer twisted the woman's face into a fearsome and grotesque mask as she stared down at the sannin, so much older, so much more.

“War is where I shine. In comparison to me, _you_ are _nothing_.” And with those parting words she was gone, her sword in one hand, lava swirling all around her body as she sailed through the air, joining Sakura-san in her assault against the one who smelled of death and ash.

“Evacuate the civilians. The exams are over. Kiri is no longer welcome in our village.” The oppressive haze lifted, causing Hinata to snap for air. Her heart raced in her chest, no doubt a remnant of adrenaline that had flooded her body. A close call. Too close a call. She moved a hand to her chest and leaned against Kiba, milky eyes following the spectacle happening above the arena grounds. Water and lava clashed with orange flames, enough power to destroy Konoha yet somehow none of it made it even close to the civilian stands.

“Tsunade-sama, you can't-” Shizune was batted away before she could even finish her sentence, her pleas falling on deaf ears. The ANBU dispersed until only a small group remained, anxiously watching the fight, ready to defend themselves and their kage should the need arise.

“Drastic measures would be unwise. He poses no threat to you or your people. He is interested in the sea's children alone.” As Suna moved so did the dust around her. Hinata wasn't sure if she imagined it or not but it seemed to glint a little stronger, shine a little harder than usual. She followed it with her eyes to the railing and when a burst of fire lit up the area, finally saw it.

An incredibly thin, almost invisible layer of gold dust between the arena and the stands, a dome as large as Sakura-san's watery protection that intercepted the bits and pieces of primal power that went wide or astray, heading towards the civilians instead of their intended targets.

“I don't give a shit what he, whoever he is, is interested in. That woman has gone too far.” Suna hummed, face turned towards the sun.

“She is not known for doing things in halves. Never has been,” she mused. Her reaction drew a growl from the Hokage's throat as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring at the two women assaulting the other, sharp metal blades crashing into dark plating over and over again.

“You would know considering you've been all chummy ever since you arrived. Am I going to have to worry about you too?” A part of Hinata asked herself why they didn't move, why none of them joined the fight. Why the Hokage herself didn't even try to stop the three who posed a risk to the village, who came dangerously close to laying waste to their home. They _should_ be do something, she knew this but lacked all will to actually fall into action.

Even Naruto remained silent and still, the frown marring his face the only hint that he wasn't at all comfortable with the situation. It wasn't like him. Neither was it like Sasuke. Or Ino. Kiba. A yawn made its way past her lips and Hinata blinked sleepily, catching a mere hint of a single colourful light dancing in front of her eyes. Oh.

“Our alliance with Her Grace is recent. Her fight isn't ours. Not yet at least,” Suna explained just as Hinata reached out to wave away the light. Within an instant, the budding lethargy that had settled just underneath her skin disappeared and she snapped out of it.

“And you?” the Hokage asked with a jerk of her head, not looking at the Ame avatar whose curious gaze rested on Hinata alone. If she didn't know any better, she'd say the guardian of the sky seemed almost like she approved.

“I never interfere. I watch,” she hummed serenely. When her eyes left Hinata to return to Sakura-san, her kage and their enemy, Hinata could breathe so much easier.

“What the fuck has the world come to...” Tsunade-sama cursed, fists clenched so hard her knuckles turned white.

“What do we do now?” Hinata asked, quiet and careful, taking a single step closer to the Hokage who barely even acknowledged her. She didn't seem sleepy or entranced like Hinata had been, like her friends still were. Whatever Ame had done had turned the blonde sannin into a bystander that watched what happened in front of her like it was just another arena match.

“We wait. If we're lucky they kill that woman and then leave peacefully. I'm fucking sick of wars. Whatever the hell they've got going on I want no part in it.”

“It is not your fight.” The Ame avatar approached the railing, hands clasped in front of her body, night sky eyes fixated on the violence ahead.

“It sure is if it happens in my goddamn village!” the blonde protested vigorously as a massive ball of fire crashed into the invisible dome shielding them from harm. The impact sent golden fissures scattering across the surface. The construct held.

“It's not truly yours. Not yet. In a few decades...? Perhaps. We shall see.” Whatever Tsunade-sama had to say on the matter got swallowed by a shriek so loud and harrowing Hinata clutched her ears. A giant stream of flames shot into the sky where it collapsed back upon itself shortly before exploding with a violent crash, sending a shockwave through the entire arena. Before she realised it, Hinata had hurried to the railing, activating her byakugan to try and see through the smoke and ash.

But no matter how hard she tried and how much she strained her eyes she was unable to look past the fragments and remnants of chakra that were so thick and bright Hinata's entire vision was nothing but pure glaring white.

“Wha- what happened?” Behind her, the shockwave had disrupted the haze Ame had woven around those on the balcony and Naruto blinked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

“Hokage-sama?” Hinata paid little attention to the others, fingers clutching cold metal as she searched and searched and searched-

“Fear not, child of the dancer. Trickery is afoot and this one was little more than a part of a whole, nothing that could ever hope to match the twin moons.” The touch on Hinata's shoulder felt light and airy, sent tiny tremors of soothing energy through her veins, accompanied by a faint smell of berries, fresh rain, and the dreams she had at night. She turned around only to find ever-shifting nebulas staring back at her.

“It has been long since I last felt Kaguya. She is fading. Remain faithful to our youngest sibling.” Or else. Hinata gulped, then nodded her head. Mulberry lips gave her the hint of a smile before the hand withdrew and the woman turned away. Hinata was just about to look for Sakura-san again when she spoke up one last time:

“Try not to get too attached. Few destinies are as dark as hers.” She paused briefly, expression bordering on wistful.

“The sea is as cruel to her enemies as she is to her own.” With those final words, she was gone, off to rejoin Suna where they quietly remained, unaffected by the sudden confusion and chaos erupting all around them. Hinata's eyes lingered on her, the Titania, until the smoke cleared, the dust retreated back to its owner, and time resumed, the moment between them broken, leaving behind nothing but a warning and a feeling of foreboding so intense it never lessened.

“Are you injured?`” she asked when it was all said and done, when there was smoke and ash, brimstone and cinder extinguished, little more than flecks of red and black in the wind. Her breath came ragged and harsh as she closed her eyes, let her head fall backwards and waited for the rush to die down. It still controlled her more than she controlled it but the less she fought it, the more it gave in.

“I'm fine,” she murmured and bumped her forehead against the other's, gripped her shoulder, breathing in the mixture of embers, salt and the ocean that spelled home to her mind.

“It's a construct. A soulless husk. It will return and he is still hiding.” Soft velvet to her ears, both voice and hiss, a sound she hadn't heard in far too long.

“I know,” she murmured and shifted. Lips brushed against lips and she lingered for a moment before taking a deep breath.

“We ought to go. Leave, before we make another enemy,” she added, brushing the tips of her claws over smooth scales, a wry smile revealing a hint of her fangs.

“We can drown them. Right here, right now. We need no army to eradicate his allies.” Black met black and she gave her a single hard look, then said:

“Terumi.” The other froze momentarily, eyes wide and lit up with something akin to hope. Moments later, it was gone with a sigh and a small shake of her head.

“Very well... Sakura.” Sakura blinked and took a step backwards, creating some distance as the smoke gradually cleared, revealing scorched earth and charred stone all around them. Bowing down to pick her blades off the ground, she watched Mei do the same. A second before the older woman could return to the balcony to face the Senju and organise their return home, Sakura extended a hand to tuck an errant strand of auburn hair behind Mei's ear.

“Your hair's messy,” she pointed out while brushing over her own, still immaculate, braids.

“You can fix them once we are home.” Sakura nodded and waited for Mei to sheath her sword, then launched herself onto the stands. The Senju was there, as were Ame and Suna sans their kage, as well as a few ANBU, Junji, and Sakura's former classmates.

“We will leave within the hour,” Mei announced unceremoniously without even glancing at the Hokage, giving Junji a curt nod followed by a single handsign, instructing him to gather their things and notify the rest of their party.

“Get your damn shit together and take care of your war. Perhaps then, we can reconnect.” Sakura did her best not to bristle at the dismissal. Instead, she straightened her back, raising herself to her full height. From the corner of her eye she noticed the Hyuuga deliberately avoiding looking in her direction and couldn't help but wonder why that was.

“Don't hold your breath.” Sakura sighed, only barely resisting the urge to shake her head. That woman never changed.

“We will not see each other again. Not like this, at least. May the winds see you home safely.” Some of the Desert Fury's dust poured from her eyes, drifted through the air, then came to a rest on top of Mei's and Sakura's heads.

“Until next time we meet,” the former replied much kinder now that she no longer spoke to the Senju. Sakura briefly lowered her head in respect before repeating the gesture for the Titania. She skipped the Senju.

“...had enough of this madness...” Not bothering to listen to the grumbling Hokage, Sakura turned around and prepared to follow Mei back to their accommodations when she... stopped.

“Sakura?” Something felt off. She couldn't name it, couldn't even place where the feeling came from. Raising a palm to her chest, Sakura tried to find whatever it was that bugged her, chased the spark that remained out of reach.

“...it's nothing,” she mumbled before jerking her head to try and shake off the spell she'd been under. Not meeting Mei's worried gaze, she began to walk away only to have her step interrupted by the voice of a boy she didn't dare think about.

“Hey, what's that?” Trying to ignore blonde hair, blue eyes and a constant thrum of 'Uzumaki, Uzumaki, UZUMAKI' that echoed through her mind, Sakura shut her eyes, reopening them once she faced in the same direction he did. She didn't catch it at first. Her sight was better suited to the twilight and nighttime hours as was common with all of Kiri's bloodlines.

“ _No_... not _her_...” Her head snapped around with a painful crack only for her breath to stutter and stop. Mei's eyes were wide, her face ashen and twisted into an expression of... _fear_.

“What! What now?!” the Senju demanded, held back by the Desert Fury's hand that had shot out and curled around the blonde's wrist. And then it happened. Sakura shielded her eyes with her arm as the air turned so hot it seared her skin and the sky was set on fire. They announced themselves with the demonic screech of the bird of flame, riding on blazing wings, born from two crimson feathers that fell from the heavens.

Bright white flames twisted and turned around one another, tendrils of yellow and orange taking shape, forming two torsos, four legs, and arms, two heads. Red poured from their skulls, one free, long and unbound, the other assuming the form of two identical orbs on either side of its head.

Side by side they hovered in the air as the fire retreated, seeped into their bodies, revealing creamy white skin, shiny black armour, crimson cloaks and golden adornments, rubies, opals and blazing orange seals etched into the metal. To the left, a woman with burning eyes, scarlet hair so long it nearly reached her feet. To the right, another woman with eyes that burned just as hot and hair that was just as rich in colour, moulded into two buns with sealing tags dangling from the ends. The former, Sakura didn't know. The latter-

“The once and always Queen of the Whirlpool,” the Titania spoke, piercing through the silence that had befallen the world. Behind Sakura, the Senju brushed past the woman, staring at one of the two arrivals, face as empty as her voice as she murmured:

“Impossible...” Sakura reached for Mei's hand, swallowed audibly as her heartbeat sped up and she remembered flame, death, charred flesh, the burning city, the countless dead, the terror-

Beside Hinata, Naruto's breath hitched. When she turned towards him, his eyes were filled with unshed tears, his bottom lip quivered and he looked lost and wretched as he took a single step forwards, never once looking away from the woman with long, crimson hair, a single broken whisper falling from his lips.

“ _...mom..._?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Made small mistake. I copied the final passage from my notes and forgot to correct the fact that Mito is NOT Tsunade's grandmother but her direct ancestor. There's ~300 years between Hashirama's era and this one after all which I mentioned a few chapters ago.
> 
> Sorry!
> 
> NaNo is kicking my ass and life is busy. Writing is hard.
> 
> Regerts.
> 
> Also, Kakashi's... well, sort of Kakashi's lore oneshot is almost done. I'll add it to the series, as always. Hint: It's Kumo's omake.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Happy Seal Sad Seal](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25728706) by [FifteenBadgers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FifteenBadgers/pseuds/FifteenBadgers)




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